ETNA TOWNSHIP — Two adults are facing child endangerment charges and nine children are in protective custody after Licking County sheriff’s deputies searched an Etna Township property on Oct. 13 and described the living conditions they found there as horrific.
Deputies searched the property in the 13600 block of National Road SW after Licking County Child Protective Services contacted the sheriff’s office about an ongoing investigation. Sheriff’s Capt. Jay Cook said at an Oct. 14 news conference that the referral began with a report from a school district just inside Licking County, and that the investigation is still ongoing with more interviews to conduct.
Cook said nine children, the two adults who were arrested, a 64-year-old grandmother and three dogs were living between a mobile home and a shed on the property. At least four children were living in the shed with the parents, he said, while the remaining five lived in the mobile home. Some of the children were at school when deputies arrived.
Court documents allege the children faced physical abuse and a lack of food, water and adequate sleeping space. Investigators say children described being made to squat against a wall as punishment, and deputies reported seeing a large folding cage used to block a doorway and contain children in a room. The home was also described in court records as bug-infested, with inadequate bedding.
The sheriff’s office arrested Jonathan Parr, 37, and Jacquelyn Coleman, 32, each on one count of child endangerment. Cook said Coleman left the home with two children shortly before detectives arrived but was stopped soon afterward, and Parr was found in the shed. Parr denied the allegations at his bond hearing, saying he did not keep anyone in cages.
Both appeared Oct. 14 in Licking County Common Pleas Court in Newark. Child endangerment is a third-degree felony carrying a maximum penalty of three years in prison. A judge set bond for each at $150,000, and both remained in the Licking County jail on the morning of Oct. 15.
All nine children are now in the custody of Child Protective Services. Authorities say they are still deciding whether the grandmother will face charges, and additional charges against Parr and Coleman are possible. Prosecutors plan to present the case to a grand jury, which will decide on indictments, and officials cautioned that the charges are allegations that have not yet been proven in court.