‘Unspeakable fear, violence, torment’: Parents charged with abusing 5 adopted children, nearly killing 1, prosecutor says
By Jenna Wise | jwise@pennlive.com
A North Annville Township couple is accused of beating their young son, denying him water for periods of time and forcing him to sleep in only a diaper on a cold basement floor until he was taken to the hospital with hypothermia, prosecutors said.
Robert and Stephanie A. Duncan have five adopted children, all of whom faced “graphic punishments, restrictions, and the denial of basic, necessary sustenance” at the hands of the couple, according to a statement from Lebanon County Prosecutor Pier Hess Graf. The children range from 6 to 15 years old.
The Duncans’ 11-year-old son was taken Jan. 13 to the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center after he was found unresponsive and hypothermic in the family’s basement, in which he lived full-time with two other siblings, according to Graf.
Prosecutors said the boy had unusually low blood pressure and bruises on his neck, shoulders, back, abdomen, hip and genitals. Investigators said doctors told them he did not have a pre-existing condition and the injuries didn’t appear to be accidental.
The boy showed signs of “serious bodily injury” resulting from exposure to cold, significant fluid restriction, possible ingestion of a sodium-containing liquid such as diluted bleach, and physical abuse, according to prosecutors.
He would have died if he had not received emergency medical care, doctors reportedly told investigators.
“The child’s significant hypothermia could only be caused by prolonged exposure to extreme cold,” Graf said.
Stephanie Duncan told authorities the boy went to bed the night before with only a headache. Investigators said she could not explain his weakened state or low blood pressure.
Further investigation found the Duncans had a “caste system” for doling out abuse among the children, Graf said. The three oldest children were abused the most and lived in concrete rooms in the basement with few personal belongings, according to Graf.
The 11-year-old suffered “near daily torment,” but all four sons were beaten and strangled, Graf said. The children told investigators the Duncans also slapped their 6-year-old daughter in the mouth.
When the investigation began, the Duncans put a space heater and a mattress with bedding in the 11-year-old’s otherwise bare room, according to Graf. In reality, she said, a livestream video camera in his room showed him lying facedown on the bare floor wearing only a diaper a week before he was hospitalized.
“Both defendants actively mislead medical professionals and investigators about [the child’s] home life and reasons for his hospitalization,” Graf said.
On Christmas 2019, he received a letter from “Santa” that said he was on the naughty list for “peeing and pooping” and wouldn’t get any gifts that year, according to an affidavit of probable cause. For Thanksgiving, the boy was fed peanut butter and carrots instead of the family’s holiday meal, the court documents said.
The day her son was taken to the hospital, Stephanie Duncan found him unresponsive in his room — unable to speak, walk or stand, according to Graf. Prosecutors said she grabbed L.D. by the neck and dragged him upstairs. He threw up anything he ate, and a thermometer reading showed his temperature was low, Graf said.
Hours went by before the Duncans sought medical help for their son, Graf said. In the meantime, Robert Duncan removed the lock from his son’s door, and Stephanie Duncan told the children to lie if they were questioned by authorities, prosecutors said.
However, according to Graf, each child said they’d watched their parents attack their siblings over minor instances, such as taking too long to drink water or complete a chore.
The affidavit said the Duncans kept guns locked in the basement, and that Stephanie Duncan threatened to shoot one of the children.
The 11-year-old was rarely allowed to leave his room, even to go to the bathroom, Graf said. She said he frequently urinated on his floor and when he did, Stephanie Duncan forced him to clean it up with bleach. According to prosecutors, Stephanie Duncan poured the bleach on his head if he complained.
The boy sometimes went days without water and survived on oatmeal, peanut butter and carrots, Graf said. Prosecutors said Robert Duncan once choked him when he caught him “stealing” water from the sink.
A lock on the 11-year-old’s door kept him from escaping or his siblings from freeing him, Graf said. She said Stephanie Duncan ordered the children to remove the basement’s light bulbs at night, forcing the three oldest children — including the 11-year-old — to sleep in pitch blackness.
“[The boy] thus spent every night alone, cold, and naked on a concrete floor in utter darkness,” Graf said.
All of the children were monitored in their bedrooms with livestream video cameras, according to prosecutors. Graf said the Duncans forced the children to run in place for hours if the couple found them sleeping in a position they found “inappropriate.”
“As parents, the defendants had the duty to protect, care for, and unconditionally love their children. They violated every aspect of their duties and instead created a household of unspeakable fear, violence, torment, and abuse. [The 11-year-old] slept every night alone, in an empty room, on an ice-cold concrete floor. He received no parental love or comfort.
“All of our victims suffered at their hands for years with no hope or end in sight,” Graf said. ”Unable to escape or rescue one another, they each at young ages resigned themselves to merely survive.”
Lebanon County’s Children and Youth Agency was granted custody of the children on Jan. 15 and removed them from the Annville home. The 11-year-old boy remained hospitalized at that point.
Robert and Stephanie Duncan were charged Tuesday multiple counts of aggravated assault, simple assault, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, endangering the welfare of a child, and conspiring with one another. They remain in Lebanon County Prison on monetary bail while they await preliminary hearings.