The Jacksonville Boy

On 14 January 2005 the Jacksonville Department of Children and Families responded to an anonymous hotline complaint and visited an address in Fallohide Lane, Jacksonville, Florida, USA where they were "disgusted and outraged by the condition of the children" at that address.

Psychosocial dwarfism

One boy of 17 gave the greatest cause for concern. He was found wearing a nappy and appeared to be very developmentally delayed: in fact, according to a later evaluation at the Children's Crisis Centre, he was suffering from psychosocial dwarfism and starvation. He was estimated to be as tall as a nine year old child and, at 22 Kg, the same weight as a six year old.

The 17 year old boy had been in the care of his adoptive parents, Wilson (55) and Brenda Sullivan (48), for 10 years. In the two months following his discovery, he gained 13 Kg and grew over 1 cm in height.

Unable to talk

The police also said that when found "he couldn't talk, he could only grunt".

Kept in a crib

According to the arrest docket for Mrs Sullivan, the investigation revealed that the child "had to sleep in a large crib with a wood framed top locked down with a chain and padlock on one side". For the Jacksonville police department, Lieutenant Susan Bowen said: "At the age of 7 he had a prescription for a special crib bed but it had been modified outside of the prescription."

As is common in such cases, other children of the couple — the family included seven children, one biological and the rest adopted — appeared to have a normal childhood, and neighbours say they regularly played in the street with other children. However, a further two children were also taken into custody.