Minnesota couple accused of starving, abusing adopted son

[dawn9476]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/11/05/m ... um=twitter

They forced him to drink his meals at the table while the parents and the rest of the family ate solid food. He also was forced to go to the bathroom in a bucket and had to clean out the bucket. The parents practice holistic medicine and of course home school their kids.

[mirele]

It gets worse.

http://mankatofreepress.com/local/x1095 ... 8-year-old

NORTH MANKATO — The 8-year-old boy was so hungry, he said, he ate from the compost bin. His parents put an alarm on his door so he couldn’t sneak out at night to eat food. His siblings said he was driven to eat a sandwich made from bird feed.

Nicollet County’s child abuse case against the boy’s adoptive parents, Russell and Mona Hauer of rural North Mankato, has some corroborating evidence to back up the stories.

A year ago, he was picked up by a sheriff’s deputy after the boy was seen walking along Highway 169.

The boy told the deputy he was hungry and walking to Kwik Trip to get a hamburger. The nearest Kwik Trip is nearly three miles away.

more at the link...not for the faint of heart.

ETA: Hell's not quite hot enough for these two (they starved him to the point where his brain atrophied) but the ducks in my metaphorical duck pit are HUNGRY.

[Deleted03]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/11/05/minnesota-couple-accused-of-starving-abusing-adopted-son/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

They forced him to drink his meals at the table while the parents and the rest of the family ate solid food. He also was forced to go to the bathroom in a bucket and had to clean out the bucket. The parents practice holistic medicine and of course home school their kids.

just saying but holistic medicine has nothing to do with that abuse... Anyway, those people deserve a long term imprisonement and I hope all the kids get psy help.

[Fargood]

I have a law school classmate who is a state's attorney in the town where these people lived. I'll check in with her and see if I can get the back story on these assholes.

[bekkah]

Shit Shit...I used to live in the same county as these people....scary! I will have to do some digging about it, I have sources from that area and that is just down right scary...

[TinyDancer87]

I was just about to post this same thread. I assume they are fundy wack because it mentions that they homeschool. (NOT to say that all homeschooling parents are fundy or even religious. But homeschool + child abuse usually stems from fundy beliefs.)

Anyways, this is disgusting. Sounds like they even convinced the other children to hate on this poor boy. They called him "naughty" because he tried to steal food :(

[BlueChair]

I wonder if they are licensed for foster care through their county or through a private agency. If it's through the county there will be hell to pay and someone is likely getting fired. If it's through a private agency, the lack of oversight is more fathomable. Physical discipline is not allowed for foster children in their state so it was illegal to so much as spank them up until the point of their adoption. Yet as soon as they are adopted, all of those rules are out the window. The line between "physical discipline" and "physical abuse" is hard to determine for professionals. There have to be marks on the body or some other physical proof. This is a huge reason why I think physical discipline should be outlawed. If no one can spank, then true abusers won't have that excuse in their back pocket to defend their actions.

This is also why I support more oversight for home schoolers. It's way too easy for these people to hide their abuse when there are so few people with access to the kids.

[Coconut Flan]

How do people get so messed up in their thinking that they can justify starving a child? They can't even be sentenced to a severe diet for a month, but it seems to me that would be at a minimum the beginning of an appropriate sentence.

[Visionoyahweh]

It gets worse.

http://mankatofreepress.com/local/x1095 ... 8-year-old

more at the link...not for the faint of heart.

ETA: Hell's not quite hot enough for these two (they starved him to the point where his brain atrophied) but the ducks in my metaphorical duck pit are HUNGRY.

I'll happily light the match so they can DIAF.

Then in hell the ESing begins.

[shesinsane]

Thank goodness Minnesota has a ballot initiative to prevent a same sex couple from horrifically abusing their kid. [/ sarcasm]

[bbtlover]

How in the world do people live with themselves knowing full well that they are abusing and starving a child? Whenever I read or hear about cases like these I get so angry I want to throttle the abusers and I also start to cry for the child. I just hope now he and his siblings will find people who love them and take care of them. I just pray they aren't sent back to those horrible people or others like them. It's hard to imagine an 8 yr. old only being 35 lbs and 3'5"! My 7 yr old daughter weighs 57 lbs and is 4'2" tall. Even my son who is 4 is bigger than that 8 year old.

[rock_girl]

just saying but holistic medicine has nothing to do with that abuse... Anyway, those people deserve a long term imprisonement and I hope all the kids get psy help.

If you read the article you'll find that holistic treatments have plenty to do with the abuse. The couple starved the poor boy on the advice of a chiropractor and rejected medical care except in extreme cases. Coughing up blood=extreme, razor sharp collarbones=eh, whatever. Reminds me of the homeopath who decided to treat his daughter's eczema with water. She died of an infection.

Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful people. What sort of monster not only physically abuses a child but also humiliates them in front of other, favoured children? It's vile. I hope this boy is able to have a normal, healthy relationship with his siblings in the future. He must have felt so alone in that house :(.

[RosyDaisy]

There is a very special place in Hell for these people!

[mockingbird]

If you read the article you'll find that holistic treatments have plenty to do with the abuse. The couple starved the poor boy on the advice of a chiropractor and rejected medical care except in extreme cases. Coughing up blood=extreme, razor sharp collarbones=eh, whatever. Reminds me of the homeopath who decided to treat his daughter's eczema with water. She died of an infection.

Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful people. What sort of monster not only physically abuses a child but also humiliates them in front of other, favoured children? It's vile. I hope this boy is able to have a normal, healthy relationship with his siblings in the future. He must have felt so alone in that house :(.

Plus, with fundies, avoiding going to a medical doctor and only seeing an alternative practitioner who might support their beliefs (or not seeing anyone at all) can be just another way to isolate themselves/their kids - and avoid detection of abuse. Not saying this is true of all people who support holistic medicine but it does seem to fit into the social isolation model.

This whole case is horrifying :(