Erica Lynn Sayre, 45, and her husband, Clifford Gale Sayre, 46, face multiple felony charges following an investigation into allegations of years of abuse
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Clifford-Gale-Sayre-and-Erica-Lynn-Sayre-102626-a833e1c6f95243e3b48e9b4dc3a99262.jpg "Clifford Gale Sayre and Erica Lynn Sayre.")
NEED TO KNOW
- Three adopted children were rescued from what a local sheriff described as a “house of horrors” in West Virginia
- Erica and Clifford Sayre are now charged with three counts of child abuse resulting in bodily injury and three counts of child neglect creating risk of injury
- The children said Erica would allegedly commit the abuse while Clifford did nothing to stop her
Three adopted children were removed from a West Virginia home where they allegedly endured years of physical and emotional abuse, according to a sheriff who described their living conditions as a “house of horrors.”
Erica Sayre, 45, faces six felony counts following an investigation into allegations of prolonged physical and emotional abuse involving three children at her home in Evans, W. Va.
Jackson County Sheriff RH Mellinger said that his office filed the complaint, charging Erica with three counts of child abuse resulting in bodily injury and three counts of child neglect creating risk of injury.
She has not yet entered a plea or made her first court appearance.
Her husband, Clifford Sayre, is facing the same six felony counts.
Credit: Jackson County WV Sheriff's Department
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Over the course of the investigation, officials heard allegations of “disturbing mistreatment” from the three children.
The children alleged that their mother repeatedly struck and strangled them and deprived them of food and water, Mellinger said.
Erica “denied bathroom privileges” to the children while “dumping soiled cat litter in their beds and dog feces on personal items,” Mellinger added.
The children were also allegedly “forced to run barefoot on a gravel driveway as a means of punishment for any conflicts with Erica.”
In addition, the children alleged they would also at times be “struck with household objects - causing excessive bleeding injuries” or “forced to place a soiled sock in their mouths” or even have “their hair forcibly cut.”
“One child described being struck in the head with an electronic device, causing a bleeding injury for which she was denied medical treatment,” Mellinger said. “One of the children was threatened to be killed if she contacted Child Protective Services.”
One child “became visibly emotional and declared, ‘I can’t go back to that home,’” during their interview while another said she “just wants a normal life.”
Credit: Jackson County WV Sheriff's Department
Clifford failed to intervene despite witnessing this abuse, said Mellinger, and one child accused him of physically restraining her hands as Erica cut her hair with a razor blade as punishment.
The three children also said that they were “tormented and harassed about their deceased biological parents” by the couple.
Mellinger said that felony charges were pursued once investigators corroborated the reports of all three children and “identified physical evidence, including documented scars consistent with portions of the children’s accounts.”
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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