Teens Say Mom Denied Them Food, Access To Bathroom
Teen Reportedly Stole 4 Candy Bars

POSTED: 1:34 pm EDT June 2, 2004

LAGRANGE, Ohio -- A mother accused of treating her adoptive teens cruelly appeared in court today, NewsChannel5 reported. 

 Joyce Summers, 58, pleaded not guilty to two counts of child endangerment. Her bond was set at $100,000.

 

Summers' husband, Clarence Robinson, 42, pleaded not guilty to two counts of child endangerment charges also. His bond was set at $30,000.

Summers is accused of denying her daughters, 15 and 16, food and putting them in their bedroom for several hours at a time with only a bucket for a toilet, The Plain Dealer reported.
 

The teens also claimed that they were only allowed to shower once a week. 

 The allegations surfaced after one of the girls, 15, climbed out of the bedroom window on the afternoon of April 18. She used a screwdriver she had squirreled away and pulled out long screws that kept the girls' bedroom window sealed shut, the newspaper reported.

She reportedly went to a nearby store where a clerk caught her stealing four candy bars.

The newspaper reported when a deputy came to question the teen, she started crying and told him that she and her sister were hungry and had not eaten in two days.

Officials found long screws for securing the windows, a bucket of weights, and locks on the bedroom that could be opened only from the outside, the newspaper said.

Patti Jo Burtnett, of the Lorain County Children Services, says there were four prior complaints with the family over seven years.

She said the children repeatedly denied that they were being abused, and that no evidence was found to sustain a court case.

Summers, who is also a registration clerk at Kaiser Permanente in Cleveland Heights, also owns Joyce's "Unique" Line Dancing, which performs and gives lessons at area events.

Robinson works at a McDonald's in LaGrange.

The teens were placed in the custody of Children's Services.

Summers' lawyer said Summers is surprised and hurt by the allegations, and she is ready to mount a vigorous defense.

A pretrial is scheduled for June 14.

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