Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

Austin and Edward Bryant

In 2000, Edward and Linda Bryant adopted two foster children, Austin and Edward Bryant. Both children were classified as special needs and the Bryants received government subsidies for their care. Over the years, the Bryants took additional foster children and adopted seven other children. In 2011, a young man who had know the Bryant children […]

Child of Roberto Fortin II

A 7-year-old boy, son of Roberto Fortin II, was brought to the hospital severely malnourished, in diapers, and covered with infected wounds. His stepmother said the boy was being homeschooled. The family lived in Florida. Date: August 2010 Location: Miami, Florida

5 Children of Thomas and Susan Lavery

Thomas Lavery, 57, plead guilty to attempted child endangerment after being accused of bullying his five homeschooled children to win spelling bees and excel academically by beating them and forcing them to study for long periods without sleep or bathroom breaks. Lavery also jumped on his daughter, Marjory, and threatening to kill her after she […]

Child of Paul and Debbie Salvetti

Paul and Debbie Salvetti’s 13 year old adopted son escaped imprisonment in a room of their home by kicking through a wall into another bedroom. He went to his former public school the next day to notify a staff member there about the abuse. He weighed 87 pounds at the time of his escape, two […]

6 Children of Maj. John and Carolyn Jackson

John and Carolyn Jackson homeschooled their three biological children and their three foster or adopted children through their local church. One foster or adopted daughter died in 2008. The Jacksons are not being charged in that death. The five living Jackson children were removed from the home in 2010 after one child was hospitalized with […]

Child of Sabrina Smith and Amanda Wills

A 6 year old girl was hospitalized weighing only 18 pounds. She was unresponsive at the time. She had been systematically starved by her mother, Sabrina Smith, 41, and her guardian, Amanda Wills, 30. While she was initially in critical condition, the girl ultimately recovered. In addition to being severely malnourished, her body was covered […]

Child of Dendra Patrick and Reginald Carr

A 12 year old boy was brutally abused at the hands of his mother, Dendra Patrick, 43, and her boyfriend, Reginald Carr, 42. When the police arrived after a tip from a neighbor, they found the boy laying on the floor, his skull fractured and nose broken, surrounded by feces and dried blood. Carr had […]

Child of Rhonda Renee Johnson

Rhonda Renee Johnson, 37, was arrested after she allegedly sprayed her 12 year old son’s eyes with cleaning fluid and locked him out of their apartment. Police found the boy after a neighbor called them to report that the boy wandered around his apartment complex rather than being in school. The boy told police that he […]

Joshua and Luke Laney

Joshua and Luke Laney were eight and six when their mother smashed in their skulls with rocks. Deanna Laney, 39, believed God had called her to stone her sons. Laney was described by neighbors as a loving and devout homeschool mother, and was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Joshua and Luke’s younger brother […]

Budde Lee Clark

6 year old Budde Lee Clark was brutally beaten to death by his stepmother, Robin Gosnell. Gosnell lived in North Carolina and homeschooled the 6 year old and her 13 year old son, although she apparently did not actually educate either child. Officials said she had homeschooled—carefully following registration requirements—in order to hide the children […]