Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

3 children of Stanley Lacefield and Cicely Mason

A 10-year-old boy and his 8-year-old sister were beaten and imprisoned by their stepfather, Stanley A. Lacefield, and their mother, Cicely K. Mason. The couple were also wanted in Arkansas on charges of beating one of Lacefield’s sons in 1998. Their 6-month-old son was not reported to be abused. The children were homeschooled. The boy […]

4 children by Rita and William Meserve

Four children, ages 16, 13, 10, and 8, were tortured by their aunt, Rita Meserve. Their uncle, William Franklin Meserve, did nothing to stop the abuse and in some cases held the children down. The children were homeschooled. The children came to live in the Meserves’ mobile home in 1994 after their mother died of […]

Pridine Fru

Actress and talk-show host Pridine Fru (right) was imprisoned and physically and sexually abused by her adoptive parents, Joseph (seated) and Evelyn (left) Djoumessi, from the time she was illegally adopted at age 14 until she was rescued at age 17. During this time, she was forced to live in the Djoumessis’ basement and work […]

Raysate Knight

Raysate Chain Knight, age 6, was starved, imprisoned, and beaten to death by her stepfather, Raymond Jefferson, and her mother Connie Knight. Knight had four other children, girls ages 16, 13, and 8 and a 4-year-old boy. Raysate was homeschooled. Raysate was born addicted to cocaine and removed from her mother’s custody. She lived with […]

7 Children of Sonia Kubisak

Seven children, ages 7 to 17, were neglected by their mother, Sonia Kubisak, who claimed to be homeschooling them. In March 2014, Kubisak moved the children to a campsite in Oklahoma, reportedly to escape an abusive relationship in Pennsylvania. Kubisak starved the children and medicated them with cattle wormer and flea treatment. When the children […]

Stacy and Jeremy Beckman

Stacy Beckman, age 10, and Jeremy Beckman, age 8, were imprisoned, starved, and physically and sexually abused by their foster parents, Shane and Judy Huxoll. The children had been pulled from school to be homeschooled, which “mostly consisted of crossword puzzles, math problems and learning how to tell time…Every wrong answer resulted in a beating […]

4 Children of Raymond and Ida Thurmond

Four children, ages 14, 13, 12, and 9, were beaten, imprisoned, starved, and medically neglected by their father, Raymond Daniel Thurmond, and their mother, Ida Thurmond. (The two oldest children were Raymond’s from a previous marriage; the 12-year-old was Ida’s from a previous marriage; and the youngest child was their biological child.) Though Ida claimed […]

Children of Christine Baughman

An 11-year-old boy was physically and emotionally abused by his adoptive mother, Christine Evelyn Baughman. The boy’s adoptive father, pediatrician Henry Baughman, has not been charged. The boy and his brother were adopted from Ukraine in 2013. The Baughmans’ four children were homeschooled, according to Christine Baughman’s Pinterest profile. The abuse, which included beatings with […]

Shane Alan Coffman and 5 Siblings

The body of eight-year-old Shane Alan Coffman was discovered in a freezer in a trailer home in February 1996. His five siblings, ages seven to twelve, were taken into protective custody. All of the children had been abused, and two were so malnourished they had to be hospitalized. Authorities believe Shane died due to excessive […]

10 Children of Dave and Wonda Dixon

Ten special-needs children—six boys ages 14, 14, 12, 8, 8 and 3; and four girls ages 12, 10, 5 and 5—were physically abused by their adoptive parents, Dave and Wonda Dixon. They were beaten with paddles, switches, and a water hose. The 12-year-old girl was singled out for abuse and was starved and deprived of […]