Khyra Ishaq
Khyra Ishaq, age 7, was starved to death by her mother, Angela Gordon, and stepfather Junaid Abuhamza. Khyra and her five siblings were homeschooled. The children were subjected to regular beatings with a cane and punished by being forced to stand outside in the cold. The kitchen was kept locked and the children were starved […]
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 […]
A.S. and L.S. by Wayne Bent
Two girls—A.S., age 16, and L.S., a.k.a. Healed Travesser (pictured), age 14—were sexually abused by Wayne Bent, a.k.a. Michael Travesser (pictured). The girls were the children of John and Elsa Sayer, who were members of the Lord Our Righteousness Church or Strong City, a new religious movement led by Bent, who claimed he was the […]
2 Children of Kimberly and John Quebe
Two children, a 15-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy, were imprisoned and physically abused by their parents, Kimberly Joy Quebe and John Herman Quebe. The Quebes claimed to be homeschooling, but they did not follow any of the requirements and the children were not at grade level. The children spent long periods of time with […]
Children by Tony Alamo
Six girls—Jeanne Orlando (left), Amy Eddy (second from left), Desiree Kolbek (second from right), Pebbles Rodriguez, Jamie Rodriquez, and Summer Hagan—were taken as child brides and sexually abused by Tony Alamo, a fundamentalist minister and leader of the cultlike Tony Alamo Christian Ministries. Jeanne was 15, Amy was 14, Desiree was 8, and Pebbles was […]
11 Children of Jeremy and Christine Long
Six girls and five boys, ages 10 months to 18 years, were severely neglected by their parents, Jeremy and Christine Long. The children were second-generation homeschoolers—their father, Jeremy Long, had been homeschooled and wanted the same for his children. However, when the children were rescued, they were illiterate and “didn’t know the days of the […]
Katelyn Pendleton
Jamie Leighanna Brooks, age 11 (who later changed her name to Katelyn Colbie Pendleton), was starved, beaten, and scalded by her caregivers, Kizza Monika Lopez and Melonea Feagin. Lopez had pulled Jamie out of school to homeschool her. It is unclear whether Lopez’s other children were abused. When she was 9, Jamie’s biological mother Velma […]
Daughter of Arletha and Anthony Hopkins
The daughter of Arletha Hopkins was repeatedly raped by her stepfather Rev. Anthony Hopkins, a traveling evangelist, starting in 2001 when she was 11 and continuing until she ran away from home at age 19. When Arletha discovered the abuse, Anthony murdered her and forced her daughter to help him hide her body. Anthony continued […]
24 children of Paul and Paula Dunham
Paul Dane Dunham and Paula Lee Dunham had 9 biological children and adopted 15 others, including 8 from the Philippines who were obtained through disrupted adoptions. The other 7 children were obtained from private adoption agencies—the Dunhams were not licensed foster parents in Stearns County where they resided. In 2002, 9 of the children were […]
Helen Wells
Helen Wells, born c. 1979, was sexually abused by her father, Robert George Wells, starting at age three and ending only when she left home at age 24. Her mother knew about the abuse and did nothing. Helen was homeschooled and stated “I never went to school. I was homeschooled and I was kept out […]
