Man charged for abusing girlfriend's three children and making them eat shoes, after aunt blows whistle
A Missouri man was arrested and charged with child abuse, after it was revealed that he had starved his girlfriend's three children and forced them to eat shoes. He also administered periodic beatings to the children. James Hays Jr., 48, was put in custody Thursday (February 2) and charged with three counts of felony child abuse. The police stated that the two girls and a boy, ages 12, 9, and 8, endured horrific child abuse for nearly four years. According to court documents, James lived with his three children and three children of his girlfriend in a house in Sedalia. The situation came to light after the aunt of three kids realized that all of them had a number of bruises on their body. She immediately took them to a hospital to get them checked.
The police were then called and all of them were interviewed one by one. The three narrated their story of abuse, the signs of which were quite visible on their bodies. One of the children had visible bruises on her legs.
One of the neighbors, who didn't want to be identified, said there were visible footprints on the girl's shin and she had a badly bruised ribs.
The children told the police that James, who is also known as 'Jimmy', would “yell at them, kick them and spank them” for trying to get something to eat. One the children recalled an occasion when James forced her to "eat hot peppers" and poured "water over her head" so that she could barely breathe.
Meanwhile, the condition in the house they were living was worse than what one would find in prison. The bathrooms reportedly had metal bars and James would often lock them in the bathroom for long duration of time.
Another stated that their mother would often try to bring some food while they were locked in the bathroom. As reported by Fox News 4, James once asked the children to take “several shoelaces” of the shoes and then asked them to eat parts of it.
The children were forced to do so in a bid to have some real food. The children told the police that James would tell them that "whoever ate most of the shoe" would get a chance to stop and "eat real breakfast". However, this was not the end of the torture that the kids had to witness while staying with James.
In order to satisfy his thirst for brutality, he would ask the children to do jumping jacks, squats and push-ups. If they were lucky, he would be satisfied and leave them but at times that he was not, he’d “kick, spank and swat with a belt" the children with “little pointy metal things on it.”
Court documents note that James would also use a “spatula and hanger” and this led to heavy bruises, as well as injuries that would lead to bleeding. When James' house was searched by the police, they found many things that were described by the children, including metal brackets and bars near the doors. Meanwhile, the children are staying with their extended family. James is being held on $1 million bond. He has an extensive criminal history, including a past partner who filed a restraining order against him.