North Newton couple appears in court in child abuse case

Couple accused of abusing three adopted children

The Associated Press

WICHITA — A North Newton couple accused of abusing three children they adopted have waived their preliminary hearings in Harvey County District Court.

The Wichita Eagle (http://bit.ly/28zIBRZ ) reports that Jim and Paige Nachtigal appeared in court briefly Monday to waive their preliminary hearing in which a judge decides whether there’s enough probable cause to bind a defendant over for a jury trial.

The couple is scheduled for an arraignment Aug. 1. They’ll enter a plea of guilty, not guilty or no contest to at least a dozen criminal charges, including three counts of child abuse alleging cruel and inhuman corporal punishment, seven counts of aggravated battery and two counts of child abuse alleging child torture.

Authorities say the Nachtigals brutally assaulted two daughters and a son they adopted from a Peruvian orphanage while working as international missionaries.