Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

7 Children of Thomas Halbesleben and Jessica Halbesleben

In 2005, police following up on a report found Thomas and Jessica Halbesleben’s seven children alone in an unsanitary home, several suffering from medical neglect. The children, who ranged in age from 1 to 13, had experienced years of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. Halbesleben claimed to be homeschooling, but the children were ignorant of […]

2 children of Arthur and Lori Allain

Arthur Thomas “Tommy” Allain, Jr. and Lori Allain starved and imprisoned their foster daughter, age 10, and physically abused her half-brother John Edwards Jr., age 14. The girl also described being sexually assaulted by her foster father and one of the Allains’ six biological children; however, no charges were filed. Edwards and his sister were […]

Desirae, Deondra, and Melody Brown

Desirae (b. 1979, right), Deondra (b. 1980, center), and Melody (b. 1984, left) Brown were sexually abused by their father, Keith Scott Brown, who was also their business manager. The girls were part of the piano chamber ensemble The 5 Browns and were homeschooled, primarily by their father, while their mother Lisa was in charge […]

Anna Farmer

Anna Nicole Farmer, 12, was tortured, starved, and beaten to death by her stepfather, James Kevin Yost. Her mother, Bridget Nicole Farmer, knew about the abuse and did nothing. Anna was homeschooled and was singled out for torture. Farmer had three other children (ages 9, 8, and 20 mo.). Yost kept Anna locked in her […]

6 children of Lora and Aubrey Thomas

T.T. (a 15-year-old boy), G.T. (a 14-year-old girl), B.T. (a 14-year-old boy), and E.T. (a 13-year-old girl), were tortured, starved, and sexually abused by their adoptive parents, Lora (or Laura) and Aubrey Thomas, and their older brother Garrett, the Thomases’ biological son. The Thomases also had at least two other older biological children, who did […]

Girl by Raul Ochoa

Raul Ochoa kept a young female relative confined in his home until she escaped at age 27 in August 2012. Ochoa first raped the girl when she was 12, and insisted on homeschooling her and tightly controlling her. According to news reports, “he had the victim help him build a backyard shed where he would […]

Girl by the Jackson family

A 16-year-old girl was repeatedly raped and sexually abused by the six Jackson brothers (Eric, 27; Jon, 25; Matthew, 23; Nathaniel, 21; Benjamin, 19; and Aaron, 18) from the time she was 4 until she was 14. Though the girl was not identified, it appears that she was the brothers’ younger sister. The boys’ parents, […]

4 children of Juan Carlos Sanchez and Bobbi Sue Pack

Three children, girls aged 11 and 9 and an 8-year-old boy, were beaten, imprisoned, and starved by their stepfather, Juan Carlos Sanchez. Their mother Bobbi Sue Pack and grandmother Edwina Luis knew about the abuse but did nothing to stop it. A fourth child, Sanchez’ two-year-old daughter, was not harmed. The three older children were […]

Lindsay Tornambe and Others by Victor A. Barnard

Lindsay Tornambe’s family moved from Pennsylvania to Minnesota when she was 11 to be closer to the ministry of pastor Victor A. Barnard. Tornambe had already been homeschooled for some time, and she first met Barnard when she was 9. In 2000, when Tornambe was 13, Barnard announced before the congregation that she had been chosen […]

Boy by Ixchel Maybury

Ixchel Maybury sexually assaulted a 13-year-old boy that she was homeschooling. The Winslow school system had urged Maybury to complete her homeschooling certification, but she had not done so. Maybury assaulted the boy five or six times between May 1998 and May 1999 and threatened to kill him if he testified against her. Maybury was […]