An Arizona couple face criminal charges after police say they systematically abused at least two of their adopted children.
Johann and Kimery Jorg face four counts each of child abuse. They were arrested last week after Child Protective Services learned of the horrific “discipline” to which they had allegedly subjected their eldest adopted daughters, AZ Family reported.
The couple’s adopted 11 and 13-year-old were found extremely malnourished, and were fed “prison food” of oatmeal, prunes or grits and salsa, according to police. The teen had been forced to live in the yard without clothing since December.
The Peoria couple reportedly outlined their chilling system to workers at a behavior health clinic that they went to for help with what they called the girls’ “deviant and defiant behavior,” according to KPHO. Workers at the clinic promptly contacted authorities. Following their arrest, the couple stood by their methods and claimed it was in the best interest of the girls, police said.
According to 3TV:
“The 13-year-old daughter was put in the backyard in what they call ‘deep prison,’” Peoria police spokeswoman Amanda Jacinto said. “She would live in the backyard. She would be forced to wear a diaper or sometimes not even a diaper. They would have bathroom facilities out there that involved a bucket. She would live out of a tent.”
The girl told police the punishments were for stealing and lying. She admitted to stealing food because she was hungry. In return, the Jorgs allegedly shaved her head and told her that she didn’t deserve to have hair.
The children were also forced to run barefoot in the heat for hours.
Police found lists of punishments that the couple kept. Kimery Jorg told police that the girls had amassed so many “punishments” that she couldn’t keep track of them all. To help, she wrote punishments that the girls “owed” her on dozens of Post-It notes that officers discovered in the kitchen.
Authorities also removed two younger girls, ages 7 and 8, from the home. They appeared in good health, and the couple favored them.
Neighbors said that while they often saw the younger daughters riding their bikes, the older girls were so seldom seen that they had forgotten about them.
“I kept forgetting they had two other girls,” neighbor Jodi Brackett said, according to the Associated Press.
All of the girls are now in CPS custody. KPHO reports that all four of the children had previously been removed from abusive environments before being fostered and adopted by the Jorgs.
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