Investigators responding to an anonymous tip found two children, aged 6 and 9, malnourished and scarred from beatings. Dwayne and Pamela Hardy had adopted the two children six months earlier, and homeschooled the two just as they had their four biological children, who were now grown. The couple “disciplined” the children by frequently depriving them of food, locking them in their rooms, and beating them with wooden paddles and belts until they bled, and then beating them again before the wounds had time to heal, leaving permanent scars. Most of the abuse was carried out by Pamela while Dwayne was at work. The couple’s supporters insisted that they were loving Christian parents who were simply raising the children according to their strong Christian values. Dwayne was convicted of neglect, and Pamela plead no contest to charges of both neglect and aggravated child abuse.

Date: August 2010
Location: Seminole County, Florida