ROY, Utah. (ABC 4 News). Two parents were charged for ghastly crimes against their young children, Wednesday.
Jaimie Stoddard and Brandon Babbitt were each charged with three class-A-misdemeanors of abuse of a child, and a third degree felony for tampering with witnesses.
Roy Police Chief Greg Whittim said that the investigation began in the middle of January when Child and Family Services tipped police off.
The charges stemmed from the parents disciplining their children, who are aged 6, 5 and 4.
“We have three, very small children that were being subject to horrific abuse inside of a home, with people, with parents, that should have been loving and nurturing and in fact they were abusive and torturing,” said Whittman.
According to Whittman, on a number of occasions, one parent would take an electrified dog collar and hold the electrodes to the child’s body, while the other parent would hit the button to shock the children.
There was also evidence of soft tissue damage and bruising to the children, which is consistent with hitting.
According to statements that the victims made, they were also forced to eat dog food more than once.
During the process of the investigation, the parents committed a felony by contacting the kids, trying to get them not to talk to police.
Stoddard is the natural mother of all three children. Babbit is stepfather to one and father to two of the kids.
“The kids are in a safe environment now,” said Whittman. “They are getting the care and nurturing that we hope all children in our community would be getting.”
