Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

Son of Joseph and Peggy Flores

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.

A teenage boy, L. (b. 2007), was imprisoned and tortured by his parents, Joseph and Peggy Flores. L. was homeschooled.

Joseph Flores had a conviction of sexual assault in 2002 and had a warrant for his arrest in Colorado for failure to register as a sex offender. According to L., the Floreses began to abuse him in March 2020 after the public school district was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several news articles identify L. as being homeschooled during this time, although no education occurred. 

The Floreses locked L. in a room with the window nailed shut and imprisoned him in a dog kennel, naked, with two dogs. They poured urine on L, yelled profanity at him (including racial slurs), and hit him with an extension cord. When L. was later examined, the medical examiner found bruising and scarring on his body.

The abuse came to light when L. talked to an investigator at the Child Advocacy Center in July 2020. Due to the pandemic, it took a long time to investigate the abuse and remove L. from the Floreses’ custody. The Floreses were charged with child abuse in June 2022.

Date: June 2, 2022
Location:
Springfield, Missouri

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Documents: Date:
Parents allegedly put son in “puppy cage,” other forms of abuse | Crime 2020-06-22
Springfield Police Department Probable Cause Statement 2021-06-22
Springfield couple faces several charges of child abuse and neglect; accused of locking son in dog cage 2022-05-21
Missouri parents arrested for abusing son, locking him in cage with dogs 2022-06-22
Missouri State Highway Patrol Sex Offender Registry 2023-10-2023