Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

Antonio Rader

Content note: Case narratives include descriptions of severe violence inflicted on children, including abuse and neglect, sexual violence, torture, and murder, as well as mentions of suicide and domestic violence. They also include photos of victims and perpetrators of violence.

mary rader and deana beighley
Antonio Rader, age 7, was beaten, starved, and tortured by his mother, Mary Rader (right), and her mother and stepfather, Deana (left) and Dennis Beighley. Antonio’s siblings, 11- and 4-year-old sisters and a 9-year-old brother, were not abused, although his brother was underweight. Antonio had attended public school until fall 2013, “at which time his mother enrolled him in a home-based cyberschool.”

Antonio was pulled from school after teachers reported to social services that the boy was always hungry and that Rader had instructed them not to serve him breakfast. Antonio was beaten with belts for stealing food, forbidden from leaving the house, and forced to sleep on the floor in his own urine. He was not allowed to bathe and had life-threatening abscesses in his teeth. He weighed 24 lbs. when he was rescued.

The abuse came to light when Antonio managed to escape from the house and a neighbor saw him and called the authorities. Rader and the Beighleys were each charged with attempted murder, as well as aggravated assault, false imprisonment, endangering the welfare of a child, and conspiracy to commit murder.

Date: June 6, 2014
Location:
Greenville, Pennsylvania

Documents: Date:
Mother, maternal grandparents charged in abuse of Mercer County boy 07-19-2014
Police: 25-pound boy nearly starved, beaten by family 07-20-2014
Police say 8-year-old boy from Mercer County was ‘a couple of weeks from death’ 07-21-2014
Mother Mary Rader, Deana Beighley and Dennis Beighley accused of starving boy in Pennsylvania 08-08-2014
3 relatives of starved boy to stand trial on attempted murder charges 08-08-2014