An Ohio couple was indicted on charges of torturing and abusing their five adopted special needs children, treating them "worse than prisoners of war," according to reports.
Charles Edmonson, 63, and his wife, Matthew Edmonson, 49, were indicted Wednesday by the Clermont County Grand Jury as part of an investigation that stretched back to 2022, the sheriff's office said.
The children have all been in and out of hospitals for numerous abuses, including bruises, bleach burns, possible internal bleeding, that were dismissed by their parents, WLWT reported.
Prosecuting Attorney Mark Tekulve said "gut-wrenching" videos of the children show them "huddled up" in a locked room in the basement on the cold floor "like a pile of puppies trying to stay warm."
The videos show the Edmonsons, who are "unfit to be parents," treating the "beloved special needs children worse than prisoners of war in their own home," adding they were "tortured, abused and traumatized on a nearly daily basis."
The sheriff's office said the investigation began in August 2022 when they received a call about a sexual assault involving a different child that happened the previous month.
The child was removed from the home.
As part of that investigation, Charles Edmonson was indicted on a charge of sexual battery and convicted in March 2023 and sentenced to three years in prison.
The other five kids were removed in February 2024.
In April, investigators retrieved videos showing the "abuse and neglect" of the five, leading to the charges.
Charles Edmonson remains in prison.
At Matthew Edmonson's arraignment, prosecutors described the room where the children were kept as a "dungeon," WLWT reported.
A neighbor of the Edmonsons in Batavia expressed outrage.
"I hope they both rot for what they have done," he told the station.
