WA - Children found locked behind "cage-like" door/2 arrested

[Rayemonde]

There's a lot more coverage here:
http://katu.com/search?find=John eckhart

 

[Rayemonde]

The main questions that were presented during the trial: Were Eckhart and Higdon, loving parents who did the best they could under extremely trying circumstances that included raising the 5- and 7-year-old autistic boys who couldn't speak, weren't potty trained and banged their heads against walls while at the same time parenting an older boy and an infant?

Or were they guilty of unlawful imprisonment for confining the boys to a room furnished with only a bed where they put holes in the wall, picked at the drywall and ate some of it?...

Defense attorneys showed home videos, which they said demonstrated the boys were in a loving home. Prosecutors countered the video showed the boys were well-behaved, which proved they didn't need to be locked in a caged room....

The prosecution was not allowed to bring up in court that the boys were not in any kind of school. The judge agreed with defense attorneys that would prejudice the jury.

If the couple had been found guilty they faced up to five years of prison.

The verdict does not mean that Eckhart gets his boys back. That will be decided in family court.

http://katu.com/archive/jury-finds-couple-accused-of-caging-kids-not-guilty-of-charges

 

[Rayemonde]

She said the boys pounded their heads against the wall, and the younger boy would eat the drywall in the room.

Higdon came across as a loving parent but facing tremendous challenges. She said Eckhart put up the metal shelving as a caged door because the boys would get upset when they were locked behind a solid door at night...


Late in the afternoon Eckhart took the stand and testified that he's a loving parent wrongly accused of abuse.

He painted himself as a devoted stay-at-home father working hard to control two autistic boys who had to be supervised at all times.

He said they could quickly get out of control. He was also trying to care for a baby and an older child.

http://katu.com/archive/couple-says-caged-door-was-for-the-kids-safety

 

[Rayemonde]

A foster parent taking care of one of those autistic boys now says he banged his head a lot when he arrived. But now, with medication, that is rare, and he's learning to sit at a table and eat using a knife and fork. But he still has to wear diapers.

http://katu.com/archive/testimony-boy-10-fed-two-caged-autistic-boys