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RIPLEY - A Jackson County couple have been charged after an investigation Sheriff Ross Mellinger said revealed "a real life 'House of Horrors'" faced by three children.
According to a Monday post by Mellinger on the Jackson County Sheriff's Office Facebook page, Erica Lynn Sayre, 45, of Evans, was charged with three counts of child abuse resulting in bodily injury and three counts of child neglect creating risk of injury, while Clifford Gale Sayre, 46, faces three counts each of child neglect resulting in bodily injury and child neglect creating risk of injury.
Allegations uncovered in the investigation include children being repeatedly struck, strangled, deprived of food and water, denied bathroom privileges, having soiled cat litter dumped in their beds and dog feces on personal items, and being forced to run barefoot on a gravel driveway as punishment, the release says. It also describes incidents of children being injured and denied medical treatment. The alleged activity took place over a period of many years, the release says.
The release says Clifford Sayre "witnessed repeated instances of abuse and failed to intervene," with one child reporting he restrained their hands while Erica Sayre cut the child's hair with a razor blade, causing an injury.
Investigators conducted interviews with the children in connection with Child Protective Services and a child advocacy center, the release says. It notes the youth are not the Sayres' biological children, saying they described being "tormented and harassed" about their deceased parents.
"The outlined findings of the investigation are deeply troubling and underscore the importance of reporting suspected child abuse, as the children were all living in a real life 'House of Horrors' with the adults in their lives that should have otherwise been protecting them from such occurrences and conditions, not creating them," Mellinger said in the release.
Child Protective Services was contacted after the initial disclosure "and all children were removed from the residence," the release says. It did not specify if there were additional children involved beyond the three alleged victims.
Mellinger could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
According to court records, warrants for the Sayres' arrest were issued Oct. 9. Clifford Sayre was taken into custody on Oct. 10 and released on a $150,000 bond. Erica Sayre was taken into custody Oct. 16 and released on a $250,000 bond. Home confinement was a condition for both bonds.
Attorneys for the Sayres could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.