Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

7 Children of Jeffrey and Danita York

Content note: Case narratives include descriptions of severe violence inflicted on children, including abuse and neglect, sexual violence, torture, and murder, as well as mentions of suicide and domestic violence. They also include photos of victims and perpetrators of violence.

jeffrey york
Seven children—two boys and five girls ranging in age from 3 months to 19 years—were imprisoned and physically and sexually abused for fifteen years by their father, Jeffrey York. At least one of the girls was York’s stepdaughter. The children’s mother, Danita York, was also abused. The children were homeschooled.

York forced his wife and children to dress in 18th-century-style clothing and kept them isolated from the outside world. Between September 1996 and October 1997 he raped one of the girls, who was younger than 13. One of the other girls was imprisoned in “an 8-by-10-foot bedroom for almost a year” and beaten with a hobby horse.

The abuse came to light when Danita York reported the rapes to the police in 2009. Jeffrey York was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Date: December 2009
Location:
Madison Township, Ohio

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Documents: Date:
Madison Twp. man accused of abusing his family 09-03-2010
American Fritzl? Father ‘raped one of his daughters repeatedly and kept another locked in a tiny room for a year’ 09-07-2010
Ohio Father Jeffrey York Arrested After Years of Alleged Domestic Abuse 09-07-2010
‘US Fritzl’ Charged in Daughter Rape 09-08-2010
Jeffrey York, accused of abusing wife and kids, has bond upped to $2 million 09-15-2010
A Family Held Hostage For More Than 10 Years 09-14-2010
Jeffrey York gets 15 years in prison 11-18-2010