How Could You? Hall of Shame-Lora and Aubrey Thomas UPDATED and now Garrett Thomas

By on 3-15-2012 in Abuse in adoption, Abuse in foster care, Aubrey Thomas, How could you? Hall of Shame, Lora Thomas, Oklahoma

How Could You? Hall of Shame-Lora and Aubrey Thomas UPDATED and now Garrett Thomas

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 Sperry, Oklahoma, foster parents Lora Lee Thomas, 47, and Aubrey Stuart Thomas, 58, were arrested and “charged earlier this month after Osage County sheriff’s investigator Justin Kling uncovered stories of abuse [of their 4 adopted children] ranging from the children’s being forced to throw up and then eat their own vomit, to being beaten with a large paddle called “Mr. Awesome” and then made to soak in a tub loaded with ice cubes to reduce swelling from the assaults, to being forced to participate in sexual acts, according to an affidavit filed in Osage County District Court.

Lora Thomas, whose first name is spelled Laura in some records, is charged with child abuse and is being held in the Osage County Jail with bail set at $50,000. Aubrey Thomas is charged with enabling child abuse and was released from jail after posting $50,000 bond. The charges are both felonies.”

Here is what makes this case even more unbelievable: They had previously had two other foster children removed due to abuse BUT these poor children STAYED! Oklahoma DHS, what is wrong with you?

“The couple became foster parents in 2001, taking in six children when they lived in Rogers County. In 2003, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services removed two of the six children from their home in Claremore after finding evidence that they had been abused, Osage County Undersheriff Lou Ann Brown said Tuesday.

The couple kept the other four children — two girls and two boys, all now from age 13 to 15 — and moved to Osage County west of Sperry in 2006.

DHS spokesman Mark Beutler said Tuesday that the agency is cooperating with the sheriff’s investigation and is ensuring the children’s safety, but he said he could not comment on specifics of the case.

The Sheriff’s Office is still trying to unravel how and when the children were adopted and the backgrounds of the Thomases.

In October, DHS asked the Osage County Sheriff’s Office to investigate allegations of mistreatment in the Thomas household after one of the girls, who had been put into a psychiatric facility, made the allegations to a counselor, Brown said.

Kling’s affidavit says the girls, particularly, were singled out for “heinous abuse.”

The 13-year-old girl told him she was severely beaten with a wooden paddle on her feet and buttocks, according to the affidavit.

Initially, the children, all of them appearing malnourished, refused to talk to Kling, leading him to conclude that they were the victims of “extreme coaching and coercion,” the affidavit states.

Kling was able to track down a biological daughter of the Thomases who had moved away from them in 2008. She echoed the stories of beatings and of the children’s being forced to eat bar soap and dishwashing detergent, adding that if the girls urinated in their beds or clothes, they would be forced to put their soiled underwear in their mouths “so that other siblings could make fun of them,” according to the affidavit.

The document states that she also alleged that her parents had awakened the 14-year-old girl in the middle of the night then slapped her until blood flowed from her lips and nose as her mother screamed, “You’re never going to learn, are you?”

Couple charged in Osage County child abuse ‘torture’
[Tulsa World 3/14/12 by Lisa Red Corn]

“Aubrey and Laura Thomas are accused of violently beating their adopted children and forcing them to perform sex acts.

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services removed some, but not all of the kids from the household in 2003.
The Osage County Sheriff’s office came across the Thomas’ when the kids started running away and were terrified to go back home.
A female child revealed to a behavioral counselor in October the abuse in the home and Osage County began investigating. The children were homeschooled.

Investigators call the Osage County residence a house of horrors and say what happened inside is downright torture.

“She was terrified and filthy and hungry,” said neighbor Kathy Davenport.
Kathy Davenport remembers the day one of the Thomas’ girls ran to her house down the street and begged for food.
“She just reminded me of a scared little girl who didn’t want to go back to her home,” she said.
Davenport fed the little girl, but authorities returned the child to her parents a few hours later.
Davenport says she knew something wasn’t right, but never imagined all the wrongs listed in the court documents.
The children’s allegations include being forced to eat gum off of Aubrey Thomas’ penis, forced to perform oral sex on their adoptive siblings for food, forced to put urine soaked panties in their mouth if they wet the bed, forced to eat their vomit and forced to eat horse manure for not cleaning a horse pen.
Read The Affidavit [Warning: Graphic]
“It’s probably one of the worst cases that I know of that’s happened around here in a long time,” said Lou Ann Brown, Osage County Undersheriff.
Undersheriff Brown says Laura Thomas had numerous child abuse books in the house, including “A Child Called It.”
Brown says the punishment written about in the book parallels the torture inflicted on the Thomas children.
Court documents show an investigator tracked down a biological daughter of the Thomas’ who confirmed the children’s claims and who says the girls got the brunt of the abuse.
“To treat a child like that is beyond my imagination,” Brown said.
Davenport now realizes the few hours the little girl spent with her may have been the most peaceful time of the child’s life.
DHS says the Thomas’s became foster parents in 1997. According to sheriff’s investigators, two adopted girls showed signs of physical abuse and were removed from the home in 2003 when they lived in Rogers County.
However, the other four adopted children were left with the Thomas’s, who then moved to Osage County.
Aubrey Thomas has bonded out of jail and Laura Thomas remains behind bars on a $50,000 bond. Child sexual abuse charges could be filed against the couple soon. The four children are now in protective custody.
DHS released the following statement Wednesday:
The horrendous acts of abuse this couple is accused of committing against these children are sickening. Our primary concern is for the well-being of these children and getting them the care and treatment they need.
We are rigorously reviewing this case to find any mistakes made by our agency or others during the years of involvement with this family. We are asking the same questions of our staff about this case that everyone wants to know.
This is absolutely intolerable. It is our mission to protect children and we will take whatever corrective action is needed to ensure this does not happen in the future.”

Affidavit: Osage County Couple Forced Children To Eat Vomit, Manure
[News on 6 3/14/12 by Lacie Lowry]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Oklahoma DHS, are you out of your minds to allow these children to stay in that home after 2003 and return them after the neighbor called police?

$50,000 bond? Are you kidding me?

Update: “The state’s child welfare agency is investigating a Sperry couple after they were charged with abusing their adopted children.

The claims include physical and sexual abuse. Investigators say the Oklahoma DHS allowed children to stay in the home even after caseworkers got involved nine years ago.
News On 6 is trying to find out why the agency removed two of the children in 2003 for physical abuse, but left four others, who are now at the center of the allegations.
Investigators call the Sperry home of Aubrey and Laura Thomas a torture chamber. Laura is in the Osage County Jail, but Aubrey already bonded out.
There was no answer when we knocked on the Thomas’s door Wednesday, and that’s also the case when we ask why DHS left children in the home.
“This is absolutely intolerable. It is our agency’s mission to protect children. If we determine that any employee of this agency has not protected children as required, we will not hesitate to take appropriate personnel action,” said Sheree Powell, DHS Spokesperson.
DHS says the agency is reviewing who the caseworker was on the Thomas case, whether they are still employed by DHS and what kind of referrals were made.
The Thomas’s, who had children of their own, became foster parents in 1997 and eventually adoptive parents.
The couple’s adopted children allege they were forced to perform oral sex on their adoptive siblings for food, forced to put urine soaked panties in their mouth if they wet the bed, forced to eat their vomit and forced to eat horse manure for punishment.”

DHS Investigates Its Handling Of Sperry Child Abuse Case
[News on 6 3/15/12 by Lacie Lowry]

Update 2: “An Osage County couple charged with abusing their four adopted children pleaded not guilty in court Monday [January 7,2013].

The married couple who lives west of Sperry is charged with felony child abuse that investigators believe amounts to torture.

Aubrey Thomas is charged with three counts of child abuse and one count of enabling child abuse. His wife, Lora Lee Thomas, is charged with four counts of child abuse.

The Osage County Sheriff’s Office came across the Thomas’ when the kids started running away and were terrified to go back home.

According to court documents, the two boys and two girls, between the ages of 13 and 15, alleged the couple withheld food from them, beat them, forced them to eat soap, vomit, and manure. The affidavit also details instances where the children were forced to perform sex acts.

Investigators say the home schooled children were coached not to say anything about the alleged abuse.

DHS says the Thomas’s became foster parents in 1997. According to sheriff’s investigators, two foster children showed signs of physical abuse and were removed from the home in 2003 when they lived in Rogers County.

Four other foster children were left in the home and were eventually adopted into the family. The Thomas’ then moved to Osage County.

A status hearing was set for January 25. DHS was directed to provide records in the case on that date.”

Sperry Couple Plead Not Guilty To Abusing Adopted Children

[News On 6 1/8/13]

Update 3/June 14,2014:

“The first two arrests came in March 2012, when two parents were charged with abusing their adopted kids. Now, the couple’s biological son is accused of preying on the same four children.

Investigators say four children endured heinous physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their adoptive mother and father inside their Sperry home. Aubrey and Lora Lee Thomas were arrested nearly two years ago.

Now, investigators say the couple’s biological son was also in on the abuse.

An affidavit says Garrett Thomas, who is now 23, was using the children for his own sexual gratification.

The children claim their adoptive brother forced them to play a game which involved them touching his anus.

An affidavit says Garrett admitted to abusing his adoptive siblings five times when he was 18. He also told investigators he would make the children play “patty cake” with his naked butt.

Investigators say, while all that was going on, the children were being subjected to even worse torture by their parents.

The children’s allegations include being forced to eat gum off of Aubrey Thomas’ penis, forced to perform oral sex on their siblings for food, forced to put urine soaked panties in their mouth if they wet the bed, forced to eat their vomit and as punishment for not cleaning a horse pen, they say they were forced to eat horse manure.

Aubrey and Lora Lee Thomas are still awaiting trial. Aubrey Thomas is charged with three counts of child abuse and one count of enabling child abuse. Lora Lee Thomas is charged with four counts of child abuse.

Garrett Thomas was arrested in Rogers County on Christmas Eve. He’s expected to be transferred to Osage County sometime Friday.

A jury trial for his parents is scheduled to begin next Tuesday.”

Son Of Sperry Pair, Accused Of Abusing Adopted Kids, Charged With Sexual Abuse[World Now by Tess Maune]

“A Sperry couple has been found guilty of abusing their adopted children in a case that has gripped many in horror.

The Osage County jury found both Aubrey Thomas and his wife, Lora Lee Thomas, guilty on four counts each of child abuse. Allegations levied against them included withholding food from the children, violently beating them, and forcing them to eat vomit and manure and perform sexual acts.

Investigators said they believe the abuse amounted to extreme torture.

Sentencing will be held March 13, but the jury recommended 40 years on each count for Aubrey Thomas and four life sentences for Lora Lee Thomas.

The home-schooled children were coached not to say anything about the abuse, according to investigators.

The Thomases became foster parents in 1997. According to sheriff’s investigators, two foster children showed signs of physical abuse and were removed from the home in 2003 when they lived in Rogers County.

Four other foster children were left in the home and were eventually adopted into the family. The Thomas’ then moved to Osage County.

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services released a statement after the 2012 arrests and called the couple’s acts sickening and intolerable. The agency said it began an internal investigation which promised corrective action.

News On 6 has contacted DHS and asked for an update on its investigation. We will add a statement in this story when we receive it.

Since the initial investigation into the couple two years ago, a new arrest has been made.

An affidavit says at the same time the Thomases were abusing the children, Garrett Thomas, the couple’s biological son who is now 23, was using the children for his own sexual gratification.

Garrett Thomas was arrested on Christmas Eve.”

Sperry Couple Found Guilty Of Abuse, Forcing Kids To Eat Manure, Vomit[News on 6 1/22/14 by Brandi Ball]

“A judge ruled that Lora Lee Thomas will serve four life sentences consecutively. Her husband, Aubrey Thomas, was sentenced to 40 years in the Department of Corrections on one count of enabling child abuse and three counts of child abuse. Those sentences will also run consecutively.

On Friday, counsel for the Thomases filed their intent to appeal the conviction.”

Sperry Couple Sentenced In Child Abuse Case[World Now 3/14/14]

One Comment

  1. I had one of the foster children in class in Sperry for about a month. Another teacher and I reported odd behavior to DHS. The case worker came to the school and allowed the “mother” Lora to be in the meeting. She spun some BS and the DHS worker just acted like it was all okay. I still get pissed about it today.

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