This story contains details about alleged child abuse.
The Licking County Sheriff’s Office arrested and charged two adults living in Etna Township with child endangerment this week after children in their care reported experiencing physical abuse.
Jonathan Parr, 37, and Jacqueline Coleman, 32, were arrested at the home in the 13000 block of National Road SW following a referral from the Licking County Child Protective Services. Licking County sheriffs executed a search warrant around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13, and found “deplorable” living conditions.
During Tuesday’s search, detectives confirmed that 12 people, ranging in age from 1 to 64, lived at the property. Nine of the people living in the home were minors – the youngest of the children is 1 year old, and the oldest is 13 – and all were placed in the custody of child protective services (CPS), said Licking County Sheriff’s Department Captain Jay Cook, who hosted a press conference about the alleged crime on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
“The living conditions in that trailer were horrific,” he said after the press conference.
Cook declined to offer specifics about the home, citing the welfare of the children, but court documents indicate deplorable living conditions including inadequate sleeping arrangements and a bug infestation. At least four of the children lived with their parents inside a nearby shed.
The CPS referral came as the result of a report from a Licking County School district, though Cook declined to identify which one. Court documents say CPS suspected “physical abuse, including failure to provide food and water, insufficient living space and juveniles being forced to stand for hours with nails between their toes and locked behind cages or barriers.”
Cook said sometimes the physical abuse was “punishment, and sometimes, it was for no reason at all. They would have to stand with their back pressed against the wall, like a wall-squat type situation. It was reported that they would have to sometimes stand there all day.”
Parr denied the allegations during his bond hearing in the Licking County Common Pleas Court in Newark on Wednesday morning.
“It’s not true. I didn’t keep anybody in cages or [commit] any of the other charges,” he said. “I love my kids. I would die for my kids.”
Parr and Coleman have both been charged with third-degree felony child endangerment, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison. Additional charges may be filed as the investigation is ongoing, Cook said. When asked if the only other adult occupant of the house, a 64-year-old grandmother of the nine children, would be facing charges, Cook said he did not want to comment on that.
The case mirrors a similar child welfare case in Vinton County that made national headlines earlier this year. In June, four adults in Vinton County were charged and arrested after investigators found 16 children, ages 1 to 18, living in squalor. Gary Siders Sr., 73, Christina Siders, 68, Gary Siders II, 37 and Elizabeth Siders, 34, were indicted on 16 counts each of child endangerment, though charges against Gary Siders Sr. were dropped after he was found not competent to stand trial in early October.
“I don’t know the ins and outs of the [Vinton County] case,” Cook said. “But, yes, there was a high number of kids who lived in this house.”
In Ohio, if you suspect a child is experiencing abuse or neglect – which includes “any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation,” or “an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm,” according to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2010 – you can call 911 or contact the Ohio Department of Children and Youth to connect with your county’s child welfare office.
Contact the Ohio Department of Children and Youth line at 855-642-4453. When making a report about suspected child abuse or neglect, it helps to have: the child’s name, address and age; the name and address of the parents or caregivers; the name and address of the person you think might be abusing or neglecting the child; why you think the child is being abused or neglected and any other details that may be relevant.
In Licking County, you can reach Licking County Job and Family Services (JFS) directly to make a report. JFS has a dedicated abuse and neglect hotline (740-670-8888) available from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Outside of those hours, JFS asks reporters to contact the Licking County Sheriff’s Office (740-670-5500) and ask for the on-call social worker.
Julia Lerner writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.