Parents indicted on felony child abuse charges

Ten adopted children taken in Lubbock

By Betsy Blaney / Associated Press

LUBBOCK — The adoptive parents of 10 children were indicted this week on felony charges, accused of withholding food and water from their 12-year-old daughter and telling her siblings to hit her.

An affidavit shows the girl weighed 57 pounds when taken to a Lubbock hospital in August.

Dave Howard Dixon, 62, and Wonda Faye Dixon, 58, are each indicted on a charge of injury to a child. They remained jailed Friday in lieu of $150,000 bond each.

Court documents show they deny wrongdoing. Child Protective Service removed all children from the home in August after a civil proceeding placed them in foster care.

CPS specialist Rosa Garcia’s affidavit described the girl as being “unsteady” and said she “appears to walk like she is about to break.” The girl’s spine and ribs were visible through her shirt, the affidavit states.

In August the girl had a black eye and a busted lip as a result of injuries inflicted by her adoptive siblings at the direction of Wonda Dixon, according to the affidavit.

CPS spokesman Paul Zimmerman said in an email four reports in the past 18 months that accused the Dixons of abuse had been ruled out. The affidavit states the Dixons “are very good about covering things up,” teaching their children to hide information.

A doctor treating the 12-year-old girl said if the child’s medical condition was left untreated it could have proved fatal, court documents show.

The doctor said the girl “has shown a remarkable improvement ...,” gaining 7 pounds, documents show.

Records show the girl at one point weighed as much as 90 pounds.

The children include six boys, ages 3 to 14, and three other girls, ages 5 to 10.

Garcia’s affidavit states the Dixons used water hoses, extension cords and paddles to discipline her.

The girl told an investigator one of her brothers sexually abused her and a female sibling, the affidavit states.

All the children came from foster homes and were adopted by the Dixons between December 2009 and July 2012.