Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

Megan Walls, and 3 siblings

Megan Walls (pictured, b. 1997) was sexually abused by her father, Michael Walls. Megan and her siblings were homeschooled—Walls distrusted the government and told Megan school would “brainwash” her. Walls married Megan’s mother M.S. when he was in his twenties and M.S. was 14 years old. Walls and M.S. had four children together: A., B., […]

Girl by Ryan Adams

Ava*, b. 1999, was sexually abused by singer/songwriter Ryan Adams (pictured) when she was between 14 and 16 years old. Ava was homeschooled. Ava began playing bass as a child. “By 12, she was road-tripping with her family to Manhattan for gigs with established musicians.” She was homeschooled due to bullying. When she was 13, […]

Alysha Quate, and 2 siblings

Alysha Rose Quate (b. 2007) reportedly choked to death after a beating by her father, Jason Scott Quate. Her mother, Elizabeth Odell-Quate, helped conceal Alysha’s body out of fear the Quates would lose custody of Alysha’s two sisters (b. 2004 and 2005), who were also reported to be abused. The children were homeschooled. Alysha attended […]

Boy by RCMP officer

A boy (b. 2002) was imprisoned, starved, and physically and sexually abused by his father, an officer in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and his stepmother. The boy’s two siblings were not reported to be abused. The boy was homeschooled. The boy last attended school in June 2012; his parents began homeschooling him in September […]

Children of Lev Tahor

Lev Tahor, a Jewish sect located in Quebec, Canada, came under scrutiny from child welfare officials in 2013 amid concerns of psychological abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, improper education, medical neglect, and underage marriages. The sect’s children were homeschooled, and officials learned that girls were not receiving the same education as boys, that the children were only […]

Daughter of Aravindan Balakrishnan and Sian Davies

A girl (identified in the media by various pseudonyms including Rose Davies and Fran) was born in 1983 to Sian Davies (pictured at right), one of the followers of Aravindan Balakrishnan (pictured at left) and a member of his insular left-wing group, the Workers’ Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought. The girl was kept prisoner inside […]

4 Children of David and ReJeana Moss

Two girls, ages 11 and 13, and a mentally disabled 17-year-old boy were imprisoned, starved, and physically and sexually abused by their adoptive parents, David V. Moss and ReJeana Moss. Their 9-year-old adopted brother was not abused. The children were homeschooled. The children were adopted around 2004, but the abuse did not begin until 2011 […]

Son of Charles Wingate and Sharon Starkey

A 13-year-old autistic boy was imprisoned in a filthy home by his parents, Charles E. Wingate and Sharon Starkey. Wingate was a former City Council member and Starkey was an employee at a United Methodist child care facility. The boy was homeschooled online and told police he did not remember ever going outside. The abuse […]

4 Children of John and Margie Cantrell

Four children—Sheryl* (age 16), Harlan* (13), and Callie* (10), along with their 16-year-old uncle—were emotionally and physically abused by their foster parents, John and Margaret “Margie” Cantrell. The children were frequently “homeschooled”—that is, kept home from school as a form of punishment while Margie claimed to be homeschooling them. The children had been removed from […]

Justin Carlos, and 6 siblings

Justin Gerard Carlos, age 14, was starved and medically neglected by his parents, Mark S. Carlos and Julie L. Carlos. Justin died of pneumonia and sepsis complicated by malnutrition; when he died he was emaciated, covered with bedsores, and showed signs of traumatic brain injury. Justin’s 16-year-old brother was also medically neglected during a similar […]