COUPLE ARRESTED FOR STARVING SONS.Byline: By LIZ LIZ Elizabeth LIZ Lisette LIZ Leather Institute of Zimbabwe HODGSON A COUPLE have been arrested for starving their four sons while letting their daughters feast in front of them. Raymond and Vanessa Jackson banned their adopted boys aged nine, 10, 14 and 19 from the kitchen and fed them on raw pancake mix, peanut butter, jam and cereal. The boys told authorities they nibbled on wooden walls and insulation to try to get extra nourishment. The girls, aged five, 10and 12, also adopted, were allowed to order Chinese meals. The couple's biological son and daughter were also well-fed. The highly religious couple, of Collingswood, New Jersey Collingswood is a Borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 14,326. Collingswood was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 22, 1888, from portions of Haddon , US, were arrested when the oldest boy was found looking for food in a neighbour's bin. He was four feet tall and weighed three stone the size of a six-year-old. Raymond Jackson, 50,denied neglecting the boys. He said: ``They were born with drug addiction drug addiction or chemical dependency Physical and/or psychological dependency on a psychoactive (mind-altering) substance (e.g., alcohol, narcotics, nicotine), defined as continued use despite knowing that the substance causes harm. and eating disorders.'' Doctors found no evidence of eating disorders. Jackson and his 48-yearold wife, who lived on state payments, were charged with assault and endangering the welfare of children. The couple are being held in custody. A social worker involved in the case has resigned and up to 10 others have been suspended. |
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