NEWS: Florida Couple Wanted For Torturing Seven Children

Florida law enforcement officials are looking for a Florida couple on suspicion of severe child abuse. Linda and John Dollar are suspected of pulling out toenails with pliers, giving electric shock, and hitting the children with a hammer. in addition, several of the children are severely malnourished. including 14 year old twins that weigh around 36-38 pounds. The sheriff's office citing privacy concerns refused to describe the nature of the relationship of the couple to the children. The children are neither biological nor foster children.



This level of abuse and neglect is disgusting. I hope that these animals are brought to justice. Nothing will ever make things right if the allegations are true in this case. The real mystery is how and why they had so many children in thier care? None of the children were biological nor were they foster. SO how did this couple acquire them all?

There is nowhere near enough information being provided by the sheriff. In situations like this I tend to give citizens the benefit of the doubt until the law satisfies the burden of proof. I think calling them animals, when we don't even know if the allegations are true, is a bit reactionary. If these people actually commited the crimes they are accused of, they should pay the harshest penalty, but there is no evidence presented here to convince me.

The media plays an unfair role in the American Criminal Justice System. This couple is guilty in the court of the media before they've even placed their hand on a bible. What if the whole thing is a big mistake? We just don't know, and I think that statement applies to a lot of 'convictions' Americans have. No pun intended, I swear.

Just the malnutrition alone make a huge statement. That at the very least has been documents as a fact by medical personel. That alone is serious enough.

Right, but I'm not understanding the connection between those kids and the adults. The kids aren't really theirs, they weren't adopted, but they were still legal guardians? I don't understand how that can be unless someone in DCFS bent the rules and screwed up big time.

Is it possible the couple took care of these kids like you would a stray cat, and the damage happened outside of the parents care? The malnutrition is terrible, but is there any evidence the kids were even staying with the adults during the period of time they lost weight? I've known plenty of street rats who were malnourished, beaten bloody by fellow gutter punks, drug addicted, unwashed, in short abused.

I'm just wondering if the kids were for sure staying with the adults in question, and how the authorities know about any of this since there doesn't seem to be a legal reason for this custody situation in place.

Was this perhaps hurricane related? I can see concerned parents taking kids in after they lost their home, or their parents, and then not being able to take care of them to the fullest extent required by law. Still, if they hadn't been taken in, they might be dead..

As far as the other stuff, pulling nails out and electro-torture, are we sure these aren't just fanciful, mean-spirited revenge accusations brought by disgruntled punk kids? Kids these days..you just never can tell. How many fake molestation accusations get filed every year? I'm not trying to defend scum, I'm just not sure these people are scum just yet. They looked nice enough in the mug shots..

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
Right, but I'm not understanding the connection between those kids and the adults. The kids aren't really theirs, they weren't adopted, but they were still legal guardians? I don't understand how that can be unless someone in DCFS bent the rules and screwed up big time.

One thing I have noticed in my ten year Pediatric ICU career is that child abusers come in all shapes and forms, from pretty to ugly from poor to rich. I do not get the connection either, but Florida's child welfare department has been under fire for other lapses as well so I would not be the least bit surprised.

It doesnt really matter if they are the real parents or not. I think anyone who abuses children or even adults have mental disorders. They are often people who have been abused themselves and dont know any better. They help keep the cycle of abuse going.

I'd be willing to bet that some sort of religion was involved in this one. It's just a pity that our legal system wouldn't let us "do unto them" as they did to those children. The weight reported shows that the kids are skeletally thin -- look at the pictures of people starving to death around the world. That's what those poor kids look like.

I hope they catch those monsters quickly.

WyrdeOne, I'd like to point out, the fact their running.... and wish not to defend themselfs, and to, the children have already made statements that tend to be conformation of their excistence under their care... I will take more into account of what those Kids are saying! Sorry, this is a Abuse Alert! Look at it closer! I would be looking over everyone that I'd would see in public, and if I got lucky enough to reconize those faces... Your A$$ is grass. I'd stand up for the child, before I stand up for them! That's Justice!
Jesse


[edit on 4-2-2005 by jessemole]

Living in the Tampa Bay area myself, let me tell you that the state agency for children is the most inept, and gestapo organization I've ever had the displeasure to deal with. I'd say the name (not DCF anymore), but since the name changes faster than the calendar months, it's even reported wrong on the local news, so I don't want to confuse anyone...

They got the children through apparently legal private adoptions...to answer that question. The couple is considered to be on the run...

from original news source

The sheriff's office declined to describe the nature of the relationship between the Dollars and the children, citing privacy concerns. DCF spokesman Bill Daiuto said the Dollars were not the children's biological or foster parents, but he declined to comment on the specifics of the case.

What I don't understand is the privacy concerns they cite -- they have the story and they printed pictures of the couple in the news -- what privacy are they protecting??

If they did this there is nothing in our court system that is harsh enough for them to get.
jm

this is very very sad.......
and the malnutrition...my god those children are lucky to be alive....

This happened 70 miles north of Tampa, so I doubt I would see them here in the city. There is just so much undeveloped hick land out here they could be hidng anywhere. I know one thing Im printing this picture out and taking it to my Wal-Mart so if they show their face they will be in custody quick. Says the kids are from Tennessee I wonder if they were kidnapped? But the media would report that wouldnt they. This is just one of those strange cases where we wont know any details until they are in custody.

Maybe those two people were stupid enough to leave a sadistic 17 year old kid home alone for a weekend or a couple weeks with the rest of the kids. Imagine coming home from vacation and finding all your kids bloody, beaten, missing toenails and starving. You start to figure out it was the 17 year old - who in short order calls the cops and reports you. He threatens the other kids, and maybe the parents were cruel in denying them food, so they go along with the story. Parents don't know what else to do, so they hop in the car and take off. How can we know with the (lack of) information provided?

I can also imagine these two twisted &%$#s (the parents) doing all sorts of bad things to their kids, parents do it every day and it continues to amaze me. I'm certainly not saying the official scenario is impossible. What I am saying is these people should have statements on record so there's something to compare to whoever made the report. There's no mention at all about how this case came to light, probably because of similar privacy concerns. Whose privacy are they protecting again? In this one case, probably others, privacy hinders public scrutiny of police and other governmental procedures. That's a shame.

I'm gonna stop commenting on this particular issue, cause it could be anything. Maybe those two were internet conspiracy theorists who had their children tortured and brainwashed in retribution. Just lets wait and see.

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
Maybe those two people were stupid enough to leave a sadistic 17 year old kid home alone for a weekend or a couple weeks with the rest of the kids. Imagine coming home from vacation and finding all your kids bloody, beaten, missing toenails and starving.

The malnutrition that was described simply does not occur over a weekend but its more a systematic lack of bnutrition that causes such a dramatic weight loss. The 14 year olds were 80 pounds under average for thier age. This type of willfull neglect takes time.

CNN) -- Authorities in Florida sorted through tips Friday from as far away as Michigan in their search for a couple accused of torturing children under their care by starving them and pulling out toenails with pliers.

"We have been following up on a number of tips that have come our way, but nothing that has borne fruit," said Gail Tierney, spokeswoman for the Citrus County Sheriff's Office.

Tips pour in to find pair accused of child torture

On a personal level.. I have had to bite my lip here!!

These less than human freaks have been captured now in Utah... so..

Thank god for them.. for if I were a cop and had been lucky enough to have been the one to have found them......... there would not have been much left in human form to put into jail.... I wonder what could have been..




You know what.... F the rules!!!

I hope these two get the most painful punishment this world can bring them... no worse.. is there anything worse?

Can we call anything after what they've done justice?

I am a parent.. I can tell you a child ... and children are all we have, they are our hope for the future.... everything we want, everything we dream .. it is all theirs..

To harm that is not only a crime... it is the death of humanity.. May these two former humans find the pain and torture they deserve before the hell that awaits them comsumes what is left.

Gazz


[edit on 4-2-2005 by UM_Gazz]

They have been captured in Utah.

www.cnn.com...

yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I hope they put em under the jail!

SALT LAKE CITY - Faced with allegations of torturing their own children, John and Linda Dollar skipped a hearing with child welfare workers, piled into their Lexus sport utility vehicle and left central Florida. Now the two sit in jail in the 2,000-person town of Monticello, Utah, awaiting extradition on Florida warrants of felony aggravated child abuse.

It's not clear when they left Florida, but the Dollars kept a low profile until Friday, when police finally got permission to track their cell phones and discovered the pair 2,200 miles from their home in the craggy, remote southeast corner of Utah.
Couple Awaits Child Torture Extradition

I am just so shocked at how this doesn't seem to bother you?
I am not trying to flame you
just a bit shocked why you can't believe or accept that these things happen
i'm not gonna say a name of who I am talking about because everyone should know.

Nice site

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Jeez! What makes people do things like this?! ...Did they work at Guantanamo or something? Develop a taste for it?!

There is something seriously wrong with this country. More and more of these stories are coming out every day. People are abusing and torturing children - there's a huge underground S&M movement - and all these guys are targeted for military special ops.

WHY is this stuff so normal today?! ....Next thing you know, someone's going to take it to a world court and get off the hook by claiming 'special circumstances' made it all okay!

My heart hurts as much as my head sometimes...



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