Summersville couple charged with child abuse
By Ed Button
EMINENCE, Mo. — A Summersville couple who had 9 children living in their home faces child abuse charges.
56-year-old Mark McGregor and 40-year-old Melissa McGregor both face two counts of felony child abuse, and were both released after posting a $100,000 bond.
A probable cause statement filed in Shannon County court that was used as the basis for charges against the couple – and were filed by Shannon County Deputy Dustin Lyon – indicate that a Shannon County resident found a 14-year-old girl without shoes and bloody feet walking down Shannon County Road 340 near Summersville on Monday, July 8 and picked her up. The girl reportedly told the neighbor that she hadn’t eaten in several days.
The neighbor later told authorities that they fed her two peanut butter sandwiches, two yogurt tubes, a fruit cup, two chocolate bars, two small bags of chips, a bottle of water, two large glasses of Kool-Aid, 10 cookies, candy, half of a cup of macaroni and cheese and a slice of cheese before officers arrived. The teen also later ate 8 more small bags of chips, two more candy bars, cookies, macaroni and cheese, three bottles of water and four cups of Kool-Aid.
The girl reportedly told officers and investigators with the Missouri Division of Family Services that she and her twin sister, who were adopted from Bulgaria by the McGregors roughly 7 years ago, suffered abuse at the hands of the McGregors in the form of punishments ranging from being locked in either a dark room or a sunroom for hours at a time, or being forced to run a gravel road barefoot or stand outside in the cold if they disobeyed. The girl told authorities that some of the incidents that caused disciplinary action included not eating the raw vegetables such as radishes or broccoli that were given to them for a majority of their meals, or if they didn’t ask for permission to get dressed, read their Bible, wear shoes or take a shower.
The teen also stated Mark McGregor would hit them with a spoon or spatula, something reportedly corroborated by other children living in the home.
The teenager told authorities that the couple would also refuse to give them more food at mealtime, but would give the other children in the home second helpings. The teen said the McGregors also locked up the food in the house after she was caught taking food from the kitchen because she was hungry.
The girls’ room was described as a concrete floor with a small spring bed containing a thin mattress and no pillows and a small tub of ripped, ill-fitting clothing for each girl. The teen stated to authorities that the McGregors would allow the girls to have a pillow for good behavior.
The teen said that she hadn’t taken a shower in three weeks and hadn’t been to a dentist or doctor for a long time. A physical exam later conducted at the South Central Child Advocacy Center in West Plains indicated that the 14-year-old weighed 92 pounds, while her sister weighed 76 pounds. The girl interviewed by authorities had pinworms in her privates, while her sister had a distended stomach due to malnutrition, according to the report.
After both sisters were taken into protective custody they ate chicken strips, cheeseburgers and french fries, with one of the girls eating Deputy Lyon’s food. The girls also ate more snacks and drank several small water bottles while at the CAC.
The document says the McGregors have moved multiple times over the past several years. They were previously residents of Washington state but moved to Missouri after a child abuse investigation was opened there. Deputy Lyon says the McGregors did not enroll the children in school and instead opted to home school them to supervise them better.
The probable cause statement says the McGregors have been attempting to give the twins to the state for the past several months.
Both McGregors are scheduled to be arraigned in court July 23.
Investigators told Ozark Radio News that the other 7 children living with the McGregors have been removed from the home since the Monday incident.