E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Polk County Sheriff's Office / Polk County Sheriff's Office
Albert Cusson, 57, and his wife, Nancy, 47, in booking photos released by the Polk County, Fla., Sheriff's Office.
LAKELAND, Fla -- A Florida couple has been charged with child abuse after allegedly forcing a 13-year-old boy to kneel nine hours a day for 10 days in a row as a punishment for being bad at schoolwork, police said.
The boy ran down a road to a neighbor’s house on Wednesday afternoon, hobbled by blistered knees, reported the Lakeland Ledger.
According to the paper and other local news reports, Albert Cusson, 57, and his wife Nancy, 47, were jailed on child abuse charges Thursday after allegedly forcing the teen to kneel on a hard bathroom floor with his hands behind his back from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day and beating him with a stick if he moved, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
During the ordeal, according to a report in the New York Post, they made him sleep in a bathtub and fed him one "protein shake" a day containing meat, vegetables and other foods, the statement added.
According to the paper, officers said the boy had blistered knees, red marks on his back and struggled to walk when they found him. He was taken to the Lakeland Regional Medical Center for treatment.
The boy, who was home-schooled, told cops that the couple planned to enforce the punishment for 20 days in a row, the Post reported. They denied the kneeling ordeal caused him injuries, and told detectives it was, "the only punishment that works for him."
Further charges
The Post reported that the pair may face further charges after a nine-year-old girl also claimed they forced her to kneel for two days straight.
Deputies withheld the name of the boy and girl and their relationship to the Cussons because of the nature of the allegations. However, News 13 TV in Orlando reported that he is the grandson of the couple.
"There is no excuse for this type of deplorable behavior," Sheriff Grady Judd said. "People who mistreat children are the worst of the worst. Jail is too good for them -- the Cussons will be more comfortable in the county jail than this little boy was when he was in their care."
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News
Leave a Comment:
I am a follower of Jesus, please don't blame this behavior on Jesus or people who follow him. This is sadistic, cruel, inexcusable behavior. I hope this child is never returned to this home.
I don't get it?!?!? kids need punishment... because early punishment shows them how difficult life can be. and things may or may not get a whole lot worse. I was beaten and endured years of physical and mental abuse but I turned out great. I treat people with respect everday of my life and wish to do more for the community. So how much spoiled is too spoiled for our Future? All this Jesus talk is very funny because I think he endured Great Torture for All. I have a lot more to say about both sides of this issue since I had the taste of both worlds and anything in between. I defiantely will be raising a survivor who will have a great heart and bring about stabilty with tools given to me by God and my Family(the World)
true and when we get back to those old punishments I think the death sentence should be either firing squad or hanging!
the republicans are the ones doing that? not so fast, if i look into an ordinary kids science book i will see a whole three chapter on your go green crap Sandy, Missouri
Wow i didnt see the part in the article where anyone said they did this because of their religious beliefs. My religion never finds child abuse ok I think the kneeling had to do with leaving very little evidence of the child abuse they were inflicting. So dont start bashing religion because of these idiots stupidity and cruelty.
Homeschooling is not the horror so many of you are proclaiming it to be and do you really think sending our children to a place where they are bullied, threatened and mistreated, not only by other kids but also by the grownups in charge of them is such a great option. I went to public school and it was awful every day. My mother and father and our religion taught me so much more about how to be a decent, productive and caring member of the human race. I also received more of a so called traditional education from those 3 sources. Just because you had a bad ( believe me there is a reason why) experience with false religious teachings dont just say that people like these two losers are "religious" nuts. Jesus said "Not everyone saying to me Lord,Lord " is a true Christian.
I agree with you, but it doesn't say they weren't religious either. Don't defend what you can't defend. The facts aren't present.
I'm sure them folks was jus' tryin' ta do the Lords work and raise them kids up right.
Spare the rod, spoil the child.
It is your right to home school your children, but I don't believe it is your right to keep them isolated away from the "prying eyes" of community and relatives. Many times after the most severe cases of child abuse are uncovered, the families of the victimized children say that if only they had seen the children, they would have realized what was happening. If you homeschool your children, there should have to be independent affidavits from non-relatives that your children are in good condition physically and mentally. That means I think that they should be interviewed to determine if they are being treated humanely since most child abuse is uncovered by teachers. If you are unable to get the parent of one of your children's friends to attest to your child's welfare, then I think you have a problem. Isolation is a way of taking the weak and vulnerable away from their protectors.