CAGING OF CHILDREN ALLEGED (mentioned Stephen (Nason) Massey)

Author: The Associated Press

Dateline: BEND, Ore.

Children were caged like animals at the home of a couple who received national attention for their efforts to raise handicapped youngsters from around the world, a former foster child testified yesterday.

Two of the children died, possibly as a result of unsanitary living conditions, said Stephen Massey, who spent five years at the home of Dennis and Diane Nason after they adopted him.

Massey, 21, now a lance corporal in the Marine Corps, told a Deschutes County circuit judge that some of the children were locked in cages just large enough for a single bed.

One young boy suffering from Down syndrome was often locked in a cage for half a day as punishment for eating off someone else's plate, Massey said.

His testimony resumed a custody hearing for 12 children taken from the Nason home in January.

The Nasons, once profiled on the CBS television newsmagazine ``60 Minutes,'' have raised 84 adopted children at their farm house near the tiny town of Sisters, northeast of Bend.

The couple are seeking custody of their three biological children, all teen-agers, and an adopted grandson, but they want the state to take permanent custody of eight adopted children.

Last week, a 27-year-old woman adopted by the Nasons as a girl testified that she was abused, physically and sexually, including beatings and shocks from an electric cattle prod.

She also said the abuse subsided only when outsiders came to the farm house, such as church groups and the ``60 Minutes'' crew.

Massey said he was about 13 when he was adopted by the Nasons, known locally as the ``celebration family'' for their highly publicized child-rearing efforts.

Massey said the Nasons denied food or water to the boy with Down's syndrome when he was being punished.

Massey testified that the boy, named Jason, later died after Massey repeatedly warned Diane Nason that the boy was sick. The child suffered from diarrhea and lost his appetite, Massey testified.

He said Jason was not allowed to use the bathroom, and his nose was rubbed in feces after he defecated in his cage.

Massey said that Diane Nason told him at least once to ``go put the animal in his cage'' when the boy was being punished.

The state Children's Services Division determined that the boy and another child died of dysentery.

Massey also admitted to having sex with a Nason daughter, Dianna, when he was about 13. He said Diane Nason slapped him repeatedly until he fell to the ground when she found out.

Dennis Nason hit him when he forgot to do a chore, Massey testified.

No criminal charges have been filed against the Nasons.