Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

Child of Wilson and Brenda Sullivan

Wilson and Brenda Sullivan’s 17 year old mentally handicapped adopted son was found caged in a crib by investigators responding to an anonymous tip. He was severely malnourished and weighed only 49 pounds, less than what he weighed when the couple had adopted him at age 7 ten years prior. Two other adopted children, aged […]

Willie Robinson

8 year old Willie Robinson, who died of pneumonia due to Hodgkin’s lymphoma, would have survived if given proper cancer treatment. His parents, Monica Hussing and William Robinson Sr., had not provided Willie or their five other children, ages 5, 6, 7, 13, and 14, with medical care in three years. After receiving a concerned […]

3 Children of Kenneth H. Brandt

Kenneth H. Brandt pleaded guilty to raping his three sons, ages 9 to 12; two were adopted and the other was in the process of being adopted. Brandt also pleaded guilty to prostituting one of the boys, aged 10, out to two other men. Not long before the sexual abuse was discovered, Brandt had removed […]

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 […]

11 Children of Michael and Sharon Gravelle

Michael and Sharon Gravelle forced their eleven adopted special needs children to sleep in stacked cages rigged with alarms. At night, the children were so afraid of setting off the alarms that they would urinate in their clothes rather than leave their cages to go to the bathroom. The children were also emotionally abused, spanked […]

Makayla Norman

Makayla Norman had cerebral palsy and was unable to walk, talk, or care for herself. Her mother homeschooled her and occasionally hired a nurse to help with her care. Makayla’s condition at the time of her death at age 14 was described by the homicide detective as “horrific.” Makayla’s hair and eyebrows were infested with […]