Graydon Drown beat his children with fiberglass rods tipped with a knotted cords while his wife, Robyn Drown, stood by and watched. Both parents beat their children with two by fours and neither did much in the way of actual parenting. When an anonymous tip regarding a bruise brought the abuse to light, the couple’s nine minor biological children, ages sixteen to six weeks, were removed from the home. Robyn was raised in a cult in Alaska, and she and Graydon claimed to have converted to Judaism as adults. The couple did not believe in vaccines and practiced home birthing; none of the children had ever seen a doctor. The couple had three older children, but they were removed from the home in the early 1990s and raised by extended family. The couple said they were homeschooling the children, but few of the children could read when they were removed from their parents’ custody. After their arrest, Robyn and Graydon Drown were charged with first-degree criminal mistreatment and 14 counts of second-degree assault and were found guilty and sentenced to 20 and 29 years in prison, respectively.
Date: June 19, 2008
Location: Turner, Oregon
