A Pennsylvania foster family stands accused of child abuse after police said children in their care had been beaten, starved and kept in dirty living conditions.
Brenda Parise, 60, Amy Parise, 32 and Shawn Parise, 30, were arrested on Monday by officers from Hazleton City Police following a months-long investigation, officials said. The Associated Press (AP) reported, citing the arrest affidavit, the accusations cover a period of six years.
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The filings said the family struck the children with hands, belts and a paddle. In some cases, the kids were deprived of food. When allowed to eat, they were made to be seated on the floor with their feet crossed and one hand kept behind their backs, Hazleton News One reported.
In one case, the AP reported the family tried to "cover their tracks" by staging a fight between some of the children, who were aged 3, 6 and 11 in 2011 when they entered into their care.
The arrest affidavit said the fight was staged to "mislead" the Luzerne County's child welfare agency. In another instance, the two women gave the children more medication than they were prescribed. The three children were reportedly in the family's care until December 2017.
According to Fox56, a TV station serving Hazleton, Pennsylvania, the alleged abuse of the children left them with scabies and one suffered from decelerated physical growth.
Police said Brenda Parise was charged with six counts of endangering welfare of children simple assault and harassment. Amy Parise, her daughter, faced the same charges plus corruption of minors. Shawn Parise was handed three counts of simple assault and harassment.
A motive for the alleged child abuse was not immediately clear.
The suspects were taken to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility. The two women were remanded on $30,000 bail, while Shawn—who is Brenda's son—was set at $10.000.
The Parise family suspects were jailed this week after bail was left unpaid, the AP reported. The police investigation was initially launched on June 6 last year after child abuse claims involving the three suspects were brought to light, the Hazleton News One news outlet reported.
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