Adoptive parents charged with child abuse, neglect in Yukon, OK
BY MICHAEL KIMBALL
YUKON - A Yukon man and woman are accused of beating, choking, whipping and burning their adopted children and feeding them pet food, court records show.
Adoptive parents charged with child abuse, neglect in Yukon, OK
John Edward Kluth, 50, and Sonja Kay Kluth, 57, were charged Tuesday in Canadian County District Court with three counts each of child abuse and three counts each of child neglect.
They were booked into the Canadian County jail and released on bail, a jail spokesman said. It is not clear if they have retained or been assigned an attorney.
The abuse allegations involve their 15-year-old and 11-year-old adopted sons and 9-year-old adopted daughter.
They live in a trailer home with detached garage in rural northwest Yukon on N Cimarron Road. An aboveground pool sits behind the home.
Prosecutors allege Sonja Kluth strangled the older boy, who at times lost consciousness, burned his skin and tongue with heated utensils, stabbed him with a knife, beat him with a broom and mop handles, squeezed his tongue with pliers and smashed his face, fingers and toes.
John Kluth is accused of hitting the boy, choking him, throwing him to the ground and whipping him with a horse whip.
The younger boy was punched in the face and strangled by Sonja Kluth and had his tongue pinched by pliers, according to court papers.
Prosecutors accuse John Kluth of spanking and striking the boy “in an unreasonable manner.
Sonja Kluth is accused of beating the girl with belts and broom and mop handles, throwing her to the ground, choking her, smashing her head against doors, walls and counter tops, ripping an earring from her ear, punching her in the face and hitting her in the face with a telephone, breaking her tooth. John Kluth is accused of spanking and striking her and throwing her down.
Prosecutors allege the pair confined the boys to an unlit storm shelter for long periods and fed them dog food.
Court papers state the 15-year-old occasionally was locked in a dog crate and the girl was not given properly fitting shoes to wear and was sometimes only given cat food to eat.
The Kluths were not at home Wednesday evening, and a neighbor declined to speak on their behalf without their permission.