Starving Wisconsin Children Forced To Eat Bugs, Grass & Dog Food, Tortured By Parents

[Sugar Cookie]

Casey Cano and Mary Cano allegedly starved their six children for years, forcing them to eat bugs, grass and dog food while also subjecting the kids to brutal beatings with a belt that sometimes broke the skin.

The couple are facing six counts each of repeated physical abuse of a child with great bodily harm and child neglect, along with one count of causing a child under 13 to view or listen to a sex act, according to court records.

According to criminal complaints obtained by local CBS affiliate WKBT, the couple abused six kids from January 2018 through April 2022 at their home in Crawford County. The children alleged that the defendants would withhold food as punishment for several days, causing the kids to eat dog food, mold and grass for sustenance.

In another instance, the Canos reportedly forced one of the kids to wear a diaper for three days as punishment. The suspects also allegedly would beat the kids with a belt leaving behind welts or causing skin to break.

Local ABC affiliate WXOW, citing the same complaints, reported the kids were aged between 1 and 9 at the time of the abuse. The beatings would allegedly begin for the children starting when they were as young as 3 months old.

Charges indicate that Casey Cano was the aggressor, while Mary Cano — whose charge has a "party to a crime" modifier — did nothing to stop it.

Starving children denied food, forced to eat bugs and grass out of desperation: Cops

A Wisconsin couple allegedly starved their six children for years, forcing them to eat mold, grass and dog food while also subjecting them to brutal beatings with a belt that sometimes broke the skin.

lawandcrime.com

The children were removed from the home around April 2022 in connection with a separate sexual abuse case involving another child, the complaints state.

Casey Cano pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 10 years in prison with all but one year stayed, and five years of probation. Mary Cano pleaded guilty to the same charge and received a five-year prison sentence with all but 90 days stayed, according to court records.

Wisconsin couple allegedly starved six children for years, forcing them to eat mold, bugs and dog food

The children described abusive living conditions and were allegedly prevented from eating for several days, driving them to eat mold, bugs, dog food and grass.

nypost.com