Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

Sakenlo Jr., Sakenya, and Sakendra Steele

14-year-old Sakenlo Shawn Steele Jr., (b. 2009), 12-year-old Sakenya Syretha Steele (b. 2011), and 9-year-old Sakendra Syann Steele (b. 2014) were shot to death as part of a murder-suicide by their mother, Ethel Steele. The children were homeschooled.  Steele was a nurse whose relatives described her as “a single mother who homeschooled her three kids” […]

Children by John McCollum and associates

At least 16 children, but probably many more, were subjected to slavery, educational neglect, and threats of physical violence and starvation by members of a new religious movement known as the McCollum Ranch group, run by minister John C. McCollum. The group claimed to be homeschooling the children, though no education was actually provided. McCollum […]

9 children of Peter Lucas Moses Jr.

Nine children ages 8 and under were abused by their father, Peter Lucas Moses Jr., and his three wives Vania Rae Sisk (second from left), Lavada Quinzetta Harris (far right), and Larhonda Renee Smith (second from right). Four of the children were Sisk’s and five were Harris’. The children were homeschooled and home-churched in the […]

10 children of Jack and Kathy Stratton

Jack and Kathy Stratton’s ten children–Spencer (17), Isaiah (15), Solomon (11), Tanna (10), Rachel (8), Simon (6), Michelle (5), Maria (4), Stephanie (3), and Leah (1)–were removed from their home by social services due to neglect. The children lacked adequate food and medical care–the Strattons practiced homebirth and never took their children to see a […]

2 children of Erin and Jennifer Pickel

Erin and Jennifer Pickel abused and imprisoned two of their five children, a 15-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl, starting in 2008. There were also two younger children and one child over 18 in the home. All the children were homeschooled. The children, who were both adopted (the boy in 2005 and the girl in […]

4 Children of David and Angela Lore

David and Angela Lore were charged with child abuse, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and animal cruelty when it was discovered that they were leaving their four children, ages 7, 9, 14, and 16, home alone while they went to work during the day and that their home contained starving, deceased, and rotting […]

Girl by the Jackson family

A 16-year-old girl was repeatedly raped and sexually abused by the six Jackson brothers (Eric, 27; Jon, 25; Matthew, 23; Nathaniel, 21; Benjamin, 19; and Aaron, 18) from the time she was 4 until she was 14. Though the girl was not identified, it appears that she was the brothers’ younger sister. The boys’ parents, […]

Bradley Warren and 2 siblings

Bradley Warren, age 13, was shot to death by his 14-year-old brother, Brandon Keith Warren. Brandon also shot and killed their 19-year-old stepsister Marnie Rose Warren and then shot himself. Both Bradley and Brandon were homeschooled, and Marnie and their older brother Ellis (age 21) had also been homeschooled. The mobile home where they lived was […]

5 Children of Wanda Sue Larson and Dorian Harper

Wanda Sue Larson and Dorian Harper were arrested on child abuse charges after they handcuffed their 11-year-old foster son to the porch in November in his underwear with a dead chicken tied around his neck. The foster child and four other adopted children, aged 8, 9, 13, and 14, were removed from the home, which […]

Erica Lynn Parsons

Erica Lynn Parsons was reported missing in August 2013, when her 19 year old step-brother went to the authorities to say he had not seen her since late 2011. Erica’s adoptive parents, Casey and Sandy Parsons, claimed that they left her with a biological relative, but their story did not add up and neither Erica […]