Oklahoma couple charged in child abuse 'torture'

By Louise Red Corn

SPERRY — Investigators use the word “torture” to describe the treatment a Sperry couple meted out to their four adopted children in a child abuse case filed in Osage County.

Lora Lee Thomas, 47, and Aubrey Stuart Thomas, 58, were charged earlier this month after Osage County sheriff’s investigator Justin Kling uncovered nightmarish stories of abuse, ranging from the children being forced to throw up and then eat their own vomit, being beaten with a large paddle called “Mr. Awesome” and then made to soak in a tub loaded with ice cubes to reduce swelling from the assaults, being forced to participate in sexual acts and more, according to probable cause affidavit filed in Osage County District Court.

Lora Thomas, spelled Laura in some records, is charged with felony child abuse and is being held in the Osage County Jail with bond set at $50,000. Aubrey Thomas is charged with felony enabling child abuse; he was released after posting $50,000 bond.