How Could You? Hall of Shame-Brian, Jill, Dallin and Liberty Griffeth UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Fort White, Florida, four adult family members have been arrested and charged with alleged child abuse of several adopted and biological children and one foster child in their care.

Brian, 47, and Jill, 41, Dallin, 21, and Liberty Griffeth, 19, were charged with aggravated child abuse on Friday after nine abused children were found in the house that had a cage.

“The family was suspected of abusing their four adopted children and five biological children who are between the ages of seven and 16.

“This pick-up order was a result of an investigation of alleged child abuse that was happening in the home stemming from concerns by a mandatory reporter at their local church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Branford, FL,” the statement from the police department reads.

Allegations include being beaten with a cane, instructions to lie about what was happening in the house, minors given nonprescribed medicine or being sprayed in the face with vinegar as a punishment.

The bond for each adult arrested is currently at $500,000, according to NBC News.”

Four individuals arrested after abused children were found in Florida home with cage, officials say
[Just The News 7/26/25 by Charlotte Hazard]

The family’s residence is in Fort White, Florida, “the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) said in a news release on Facebook.

“On July 3, 2025, Columbia County sheriff’s deputies were called to assist the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) with a court-ordered pickup of nine children residing at the residence of Brian and Jill Griffeth,” the CCSO said. “This pick-up order was a result of an investigation of alleged child abuse that was happening in the home stemming from concerns by a mandatory reporter at their local church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Branford, Fla.”

“The nine children mentioned in the investigation included five biological children and four who are adopted. Concerns were raised after the church noticed that one of the Griffeth’s children had a “functioning electronic stun gun” a few days prior, causing worry as to whether the adopted children were “being treated unfairly compared to the biological children,” the CCSO said.

According to authorities, the children claimed during police interviews that they were “caged under the bunk bed” and unable to escape after being “screwed” down in the plywood, “sprayed in the face with vinegar as a form of punishment,” allegedly beaten with a cane and forced to lie on the floor with a piece of plywood on top of them and pressed down.

The kids were also allegedly not being taken to school or taught how to read and write and were given non-prescribed medication.”

According to an arrest warrant, Brian and Jill adopted their children in Arizona before recently moving to Fort White. They allegedly insisted that the stun gun at the church was a “fake toy,” which was later proved to be a real weapon.

The arrest warrant reportedly stated that a church employee told child welfare authorities that the Griffeths “primarily foster or adopt African American children and expressed concerns that these foster/adoptive children are being treated unfairly.” They also alleged that “none of the foster or adopted children are familiar with their last names or basic personal information.”

“A  tenth foster child also lives at the home, but they were not present at the time. The child was later located “safe and healthy” in Arizona with their biological parents.
A foster child with a redacted name in the arrest warrant also accuses the Griffeths’ adult son, Dillan, of sexual assault.”

[I have no words….]

Florida Family Arrested for Alleged Child Abuse, Accused of Beating and Locking Adopted Kids Underneath Floorboards
[People 7/27/25 by Escher Walcott]

REFORM Puzzle Pieces

Update:“Charges have been dropped against a local family accused of physically and sexually abusing their children.

Action News Jax told you this summer when Jill and Brian Griffeth, along with their adult children Dallin and Liberty Ann, were arrested on child cruelty charges.”

The charges were dropped on Friday, court records show.

“All initial salacious gossip concerning children being treated as slaves or incidents of sexual abuse were determined to be unfounded in this investigation,” the state said in a document about its decision to drop charges.

With respect to child abuse charges, allegations against the family included a child being locked in a homemade cage, beaten with a cane, and sprayed in the face with vinegar as punishment.

According to the State Attorney’s Office, the so-called “caging” was the family’s method to “ensure no acts of violence were perpetrated on the other children.”

The “vinegar” sprayed in two of the children’s faces was found to be “a homemade version of ‘Sassy Spray’ a product sold in numerous outlets as a modern version of soap in the mouth,” the document said. “ … Said action does not constitute child abuse.”[What the ! Are you kidding me?Spraying Soap in the mouth and caging kids is NOT child abuse? How about the rapes? and the stun gun? Florida State Attorney…you SUCK!]

From the State attorney’s document :”A jury would be asked to consider: a poor family, devout in their faith, and raising nine minor children in a small home, addressing the situation in a small manner they deem appropriate to ensure the safety and security of the alleged victim and to also ensure no acts of violence were perpetrated upon the other children. The State cannot refute such an argument, and this matter cannot be presented to a jury with liberty at stake.”

[Are you kidding me? they deemed caging kids and spraying  soap in their mouths as “appropriate”? If this was not a LDS family, I am certain that you would have presented the case to the jury. I feel very sad for the children in this family]

Charges dropped against Columbia County family accused of abusing kids
[Yahoo 11/4/25 by Action News Jax]

Update 2:Brian “Griffeth was arrested in Arizona in August 2026, months after Florida prosecutors dropped all state child abuse charges against him, his wife Jill, and their adult children Dallin and Liberty Griffeth, according to FOX 10 Phoenix. The outlet reports that FBI agents out of Jacksonville opened an independent investigation after the state case collapsed, ultimately leading to allegations that Griffeth sexually abused his former foster daughter, now 18, and used an iPad to record her performing sexual acts, per the FBI’s probable cause statement cited by the station.

The young woman told investigators the abuse typically happened on Wednesday nights, and that Griffeth once took her out through a bathroom window and walked her to his room specifically to avoid cameras and lights in the house, according to the same FOX 10 Phoenix report. She said she was instructed to make several videos and was too frightened of Griffeth to refuse. The alleged abuse reportedly continued until she was removed from the family’s Florida home.

A Case That Started With a Stun Gun at Church Camp

The whole saga became public in July 2025, when deputies and state child welfare workers descended on the Griffeth family’s rural Fort White, Florida property, a wooded stretch of Columbia County roughly 30 miles northwest of Gainesville, according to Action News Jax. Authorities took nine minor children into protective custody, and Brian Griffeth, Jill Griffeth, Dallin Griffeth, and Liberty Griffeth were all arrested and charged with child abuse.

The case reportedly started when a camp staff member with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported concerns to Florida’s Department of Children and Families after one of the Griffeth children was found with a stun gun at a church camp. At the time, Brian Griffeth served as a ward clerk in the Branford Ward of the Lake City Florida Stake, per FLOODLIT.org.

During that initial welfare visit, deputies reportedly observed four adopted children performing chores while five biological children were playing or watching television, a disparity investigators cited as key evidence supporting the emergency removal, according to the Washington Post. Deputies also said some of the children did not know their own last names or birthdates. Allegations that later surfaced included claims that a 14-year-old boy had been caged under a bunk bed, that Brian Griffeth’s son had been living in a backyard shed, and that Jill Griffeth had sprayed two children in the face with vinegar. A witness also alleged the children were treated like workers rather than family and did not receive a proper education, and another alleged the family primarily adopted or fostered African American children.”

“After Florida’s case fell apart, the FBI’s Jacksonville field office picked up the thread, and the resulting federal investigation culminated in Griffeth’s August 2026 arrest in Arizona.

He is currently in federal custody and has a hearing scheduled for September 11, 2026. FOX 10 Phoenix reports that Griffeth denied any child pornography activity after his arrest and denied contacting anyone in Florida through TikTok, even though the alleged victim said she received messages from a TikTok account named lany264ever this past July. His federal defender did not respond to the station’s request for comment.”

ARIZONA FOSTER DAD FACING FEDERAL SEX CHARGES AFTER FLORIDA ABUSE CASE COLLAPSED

[Hoodline 9/4/26 by Taylor Johnson]