Texas couple who ran gay conversion programs forced underage boys to mow lawns, physically abused them to 'get the demons out'
BERTRAM, TEXAS: A couple from Texas who ran gay conversion programs has reportedly been indicted on human trafficking charges for allegedly forcing underage boys to work at a lawn maintenance company.
49-year-old Gary Wiggins and his 34-year-old wife Meghann Wiggins were looking after the boys in a religious home for troubled children called The Joshua Home.
The pair were indicted on August 6, nearly a year after eight boys—aged between 10 and 17—they were looking after in a Christian non-profit in Bertram, Texas, were removed from the Wiggins' care and the home was shut down.
Gary and Meghann had reportedly been putting the boys to work at a lawn maintenance company and punishing them by making them stare at walls for hours on end if they did not behave according to them.
Gary has a history of abuse allegations and has had previous homes in Alabama and Missouri shut down amid claims that he thrashed boys with belts to "get the demons out of them and make them straight," according to the Daily Mail.
Gary, despite being reported to authorities multiple times over the last three years, was charged for the first time earlier this month. Reports state that authorities spent the last year investigating into the claims.
The couple had reportedly been running the Joshua Home in Missouri but decided to move it to Texas last year after allegations of abuse.
The home is affiliated with a Christian nonprofit organization called the Joshua Home Ministries which helps the homeless in the region.
Anonymous parents, on the pair's website, thanked the Wiggins for looking after their sons, they also described Gary as a "brother" and said he and his wife helped their children through prayer.
The former students of a different home run by the couple in Alabama, however, provided a different account as they reported Gary being abusive towards them.
Shortly after many of the boys ran away from the Blessed Hope Boys Academy in 2016, the police reportedly raided the home.
Some of the boys reported that Gary had beaten them and told them he was going to "get the demons" out of them in an attempt to make them straight.
Twenty-two boys were removed from the home but Gary wasn't charged and went on to open The Joshua Home in Missouri.
After fresh allegations of abuse in the Missouri home, the couple moved to Texas and Missourian authorities alerted officials in the state about the couple and an investigation was launched.
Texan authorities raided the Joshua Home in July last year and eight boys were removed from the house but the couple was not charged then.
The boys were put into the custody of Child Protective Services after being removed from the house.