Free Republic

Akron- Despite her small stature, Alice Jenkins was clearly the father figure to the six children of her partner, Mary Rowles. Rowles had adversarial relationships with the fathers of her children. But several now might seek custody of the children who have been removed from Rowles and Jenkins and placed in foster care. The women were each charged with five counts of child endangering for mistreating the boys. Jenkins also was charged with two counts of felonious assault for striking two boys with hammers and kicking another boy. Police said the boys, who were severely malnourished, were locked in a...

Three Kenmore boys told authorities their mother locked them in a closet since Valentine's Day until they escaped this week through a second- floor window. Allegations of the boys' abuse were detailed Wednesday in documents for a Summit County Juvenile Court hearing to determine if the boys and their three siblings should remain in the county's custody. According to the complaint: ``Their mother and her partner... created a substantial risk of serious harm to their health, safety and well being by treating them like prisoners, locking them in a closet for over three months, with little food, no light and...

Pre-dawn call brings abuse to light Man alerts Akron police after seeing three boys walking toward I-77 By Andale Gross Beacon Journal staff writer Jeff Russell did a double take when he drove past three children a week ago in the chilly pre-dawn hours walking toward the highway. Three boys dressed in T-shirts, the smallest riding on the shoulders of one of the older boys, were heading north on East Avenue near Interstate 77, about a mile away from their Florida Avenue home in Kenmore. They had walked past houses and car lots and were near a gas station. Russell,...

Posted on Thu, May. 01, 2003 Abuse alleged in home Six children, apparently malnourished, found in Kenmore Three boys say they were kept in closet for months By John Higgins and Andale Gross Beacon Journal staff writers More photos The Akron Police Department is investing an alleged case of child abuse that took place at this home at 1082 Florida Avenue in Kenmore. Karen Schiely, ABJ photo. Three Kenmore boys told authorities their mother locked them in a closet since Valentine's Day until they escaped this week through a second- floor window. Allegations of the boys' abuse were detailed Wednesday...

An Akron mother and her lover accused of locking five boys in a dark closet for weeks at a time were arrested Friday on felony abuse charges. Mary Rowles, 30, the biological mother of the boys, and her partner, Alice Jenkins, were each charged with five felony counts of child endangering. Jenkins, 27, faces two additional charges of felonious assault. ``There were some things the kids were forced to do that are not considered normal among us,'' said Akron police Detective Crystal Bowen-Carter. ``This is the worst case I've ever come in contact with. I've never seen anything like this.......