DAYTON — A mother and her boyfriend are facing several charges after allegedly beating seven children.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, Stephanas Golden, 40, and Heather Pippen, 35, were indicted by a Montgomery County Grand Jury on Friday.
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Golden is facing seven counts of child endangering, two counts of strangulation, and resisting arrest.
Pippen is facing two counts of child endangering, one count of strangulation, and one count of obstructing official business.
Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck said they hid the abuse for so long because the children were homeschooled.
The alleged abuse happened inside a home on Wroe Avenue.
Pippen is the mother of five children and the aunt of the two other children. Golden is Pippen’s boyfriend and isn’t the father to any of them.
Investigators and other family members think the abuse went on for years.
News Center 7’s Malik Patterson spoke to Shondale Atkinson on behalf of Justin Holt.
Holt is the biological father of five of these children.
Last month, a 15-year-old girl recorded the abuse.
The video wound up on social media and got the investigators’ attention.
On Friday, Atkinson said she spoke with the teen and her dad about the video.
Atkinson shared some of her conversation with the teen.
“I have to start taking pictures and capturing the abuse as it is happening in real time, so that way, I can notify my father about what’s going on,” the girl told Atkinson.
Atkinson said she’s very proud of her bravery.
She added that the children know how much attention the case has received.
“She (15-year-old girl) wanted to let the community know that she is grateful. She’s been seeing the news stories, and she’s seen the donations that the community has flooded this family with,” Atkinson said.
For Holt and the rest of the family, this investigation has been a lot to deal with.
“There’s this grief in there, you know, I mean to know that there was this level of abuse that was going on,” Atkinson said. “They’re very happy that the system is investigating and, you know, indicting more charges.”
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Friday afternoon, Prosecutor Mat Heck talked about the video that propelled the investigation.
“When you see what’s on that video, he just, can’t believe it, it’s unimaginable,” he said.
News Center 7 has decided not to show the video or play the sound because it is too graphic.
“I think it’s clear, were abused to the point that they were tortured,” Heck said.
If the abuse continued, Heck believes one of the children could have died.
“When you see how it was accelerating, how it got worse all the time, I don’t think there’s any question at all,” Heck said.
Atkinson talked about how the family plans to help out the children.
“Bring in therapeutic services. We want them to go to camp. We want them to be able to go into different activities after school programming. We want them to go back to school,” she said.
Both Golden and Pippen remain booked in the Montgomery County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
We will continue to follow this story.
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