I got into a pretty big fight with my kid the other day about doing a page of homework. He insisted it was “optional” despite him writing down that it was due. After endless nagging, he ragefully did the page of homework, but I still messaged the teacher asking if it was truly an “option” and not a requirement. While my son was at school, I got the message back that it was indeed optional, and I was filled with so much shame and guilt. I had blown up for absolutely no reason. When he got home, I apologized to him and promised I’d be more trusting of him, and we’ve been perfectly fine ever since.
Little interactions like that are some of my biggest parenting regrets. Although I admit I am not a perfect parent, I don’t understand how others don’t feel guilt about those little interactions, let alone commit heinous acts of abuse against their children. I am a fairly empathetic person and understand mental illness is a thing, but some crimes against children are utterly incomprehensible.
Arizona parents Sara Jackson and Arthur Jackson are accused of such crimes. Law & Crime recently reported that the pair kept their sons, 6 and 4, locked up in a room 24/7 with no access to a bathroom and little human interaction.
“I’m a bad mom sometimes,” Sara Jackson, 36, allegedly admitted to local investigators, a probable cause statement filed by the Glendale Police Department and obtained by Law & Crime revealed. “I’m overwhelmed, I don’t have motivation.”
The statement went on to describe what I can only refer to as a house of horrors. Feces and excrement were all over the wall where the boys were kept, their access to the bathroom blocked by a zip-tied door. The mother also allegedly confessed that neither of the boys has been to school or a doctor since birth. The home was described as “hoarder like” with things piled up in every room, including the bathroom they were barred from using.
The couple was charged with felony level child abuse for what officials are calling “deeply disturbing behavior” to the two little boys.
“Police were called after a concerned citizen observed a naked child through an apartment window as he was doing some work in the area,” said Glendale Police Sgt. Bryan Hoskin, according to Law & Crime. “The children were found in extremely unsanitary conditions and showed signs of significant developmental delays. One child was nonverbal and the other was minimally verbal.”
According to the outlet, Jose Santiago, administrator with the Glendale Police Department, said the conditions were so bad, officers were in shock over it.
“These parents showed, really, no signs of any kind of remorse or any kind of shock when our officers arrived,” Santiago said, per Law & Crime. “They basically acted as if this was just a normal activity.”
In fact, the mom even defended the decision to use a gate to keep the children in the room because one of the boys doesn’t like to use the porta-potty and liked to throw feces, so it made sense for him to be contained. She also allegedly said her husband doesn’t mind the state of the home and is often away working.
“Arthur stated he works a lot and doesn’t have time to scrub the apartment,” the probable cause statement noted. “Arthur stated the kids are in the room with the gate closed when he is at work. He said he works up to nine hours a day, six days a week, and he opens the gate when he is at home.”
Sara Jackson, however, refuted that by saying the boys were locked in that room “24 hours a day, seven days a week” even when her husband is home.
Both boys were placed in the custody of the Arizona Department of Child Safety. The parents were each booked on two counts of child abuse and are being held on $25,000 bonds.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
