Couple Forces Boy to Kneel For 10 Days

Honestly, we don't know what's wrong with people.

A Lakeland couple faces child abuse charges after authorities say they forced a teenage boy to kneel on a hard bathroom floor for hours and kept him from eating and moving. Albert Cusson, 57, and his wife, Nancy Cusson, 47, both of 12217 Old Dade City Road, are charged with aggravated child abuse by the Polk County Sheriff's Office. The name and relationship of the boy and couple is being withheld by the Sheriff's Office because of the nature of the case. The couple is accused of forcing the 13-year-old boy to sit for nine hours straight with his knees on the bathroom floor and his hands behind his back for 10 days. He was not allowed to take a break, to use the bathroom, to eat or to stretch, the arrest affidavit says. The couple forced him to sleep in the bath tub and to have only a drink made from vegetables, meat and other food, which Nancy Cusson described as a “protein shake with at least 1,800 to 2,000 calories,” her arrest report says. If he moved, the boy was beaten with a stick, deputies said. The boy decided on Wednesday he could not take the punishment any more and decided to leave the home. That was when deputies were notified about the alleged abuse. Deputies said the boy had marks on his back, which the boy said was from Nancy Cusson beating him for moving. He also had blisters on his knees and was in visible pain when he walked, the arrest affidavit said. The couple told detectives they had tried other ways to punish the boy, but that he continually acted out and cheated on school work. Albert Cusson said his father had punished him in the same manner. The couple also had access to a 9-year-old girl who told deputies she had been made to kneel on her knees for two days and could only eat in the morning.

source: The Ledger

The Cussons told the boy he would be kneeling for 20 days straight, and that's when he ran away and got help.