Children Say Man Tortured, Sexually Abused Them In Indiana Basement

[Sugar Cookie]

Several children claim they were tortured and sexually abused in an Indiana basement by a man recently arrested in Florida.

The disturbing allegations made by the four victims, all boys under the age of 12, include being fed only crumbs until they passed out from hunger and watching as he snapped the necks of their pets in front of their eyes.

Joshua Chasteen, 28, currently of Fort McCoy, Florida, is charged with 20 felony counts tied to an investigation that began in January when the alleged victims came forward to police, according to court documents.

Chasteen lived in Jonesboro, Indiana at the time the alleged crimes were committed, but has since moved to his mother’s house in Florida.

The children said Chasteen, who lived in Jonesboro at the time, kept them locked in a basement and subjected them to brutal whippings and physical, psychological and sexual torture.

Police said one of the children was crying so hard and so hysterically while giving a statement that it made their account difficult to understand.

The oldest child recalled being sent to buy concealer to help cover the bruises on a younger alleged victim, according to the documents. Several of the children told police Chasteen threatened to kill them if they spoke out about the abuse, forcing them to lie about how they’d got blemishes and marks.

https://www.abc27.com/national/fed-only-crumbs-children-say-man-tortured-sexually-abuse-them-in-indiana-basement/

Police said one of the victims began crying while recounting the allegations to police, recalling how Chasteen would only feed them his leftover scraps and how the child’s dog was beaten for trying to jump in and protect them against Chasteen’s abuse. Police said the child was crying so hard and so hysterically that it made their account difficult to understand.

Chasteen’s alleged torture and abuse didn’t end with just beatings and starvation, according to the victims. He is also accused of sexually molesting several of the children. One recalled Chasteen coming into the bathroom to molest them before allegedly threatening to kill the child if they told anyone.

But children weren’t the only victims in the Jonesboro house. According to the children’s accounts, Chasteen also abused and killed several animals — often right in front of the children.

One victim told police that Chasteen once snapped a kitten’s neck in front of the children due to the animal getting in his way. In a similar account, Chasteen was also accused of killing another of the children’s cats after it jumped up on his lap for some “lovin’,” the child told police. But Chasteen offered no love, just a grisly end in front of the child.

The children said Chasteen also fed other cats rat poison and even made at least one of the children watch. He also would viciously kick one of their dogs that allegedly tried to protect the children.

Chasteen was not the only adult in the Jonesboro home where the allegedly horrid crimes occurred. Chasteen’s wife later told police that some of the children reported the alleged abuse to her, but she trusted Chasteen when he told her the children were exaggerating.

Court documents reveal that Chasteen’s wife was often not home, but did see Chasteen “whipping” the children on occasion. She even told police she noted the bruises left after one of the whippings, but went on to claim she was “just too exhausted” from working 110 hours a week to look further into what was happening under her roof.

But court documents said other women did take closer note. A mother of one of the reported victims told investigators that she called DCS “several times” to report Chasteen for alleged abuse.

By the time police spoke to these women, court documents reveal that Chasteen had already left the state of Indiana to live with his mother in Florida.

Police made contact with Chasteen over the phone on Jan. 12. When confronted by the allegations, investigators said Chasteen angrily denied abusing and molesting the children. He told police that he believed someone was coercing the children into the accusations.

As police pressed further, Chasteen allegedly became angrier and ended up making alleged threats toward the mother of at least one of the children.


“If I am charged for something I did not do, you best believe that I will be brought up on charges that I did do, and that will be for beating (the mother’s) f***ing ass,” he reportedly said.

When police informed Chasteen that the call was being recorded, he doubled down on the threats.

“I don’t care,” Chasteen allegedly said. “If I am going to go to jail for no reason, I am going to make sure it is for a reason.”

https://fox59.com/news/indycrime/fed-only-crumbs-multiple-children-accuse-former-jonesboro-man-of-torture-abuse-molestation/

 

[Kleng]

Good riddance.