NJ Couple Who Beat Adopted Kids, Force Fed Them Hot Sauce Resentenced

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — A former Army Major and his wife, who were previously convicted in a child abuse case, were sentenced for the fourth time on Monday, according to US Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.

Authorities allege the couple abused three adopted children who were all under the age of four and were developmentally delayed. Authorities said the children were found with fractured bones, and were denied medical attention. Additionally, the children were forbidden water and force-fed hot sauce.

On Monday, Carolyn Jackson, 46, was sentenced to 140 months in prison, and her husband, John E. Jackson, 48, formerly a major in the Army at the Picatinny Arsenal Installation in Morris County, was sentenced to 108 months in prison.

"Carolyn Jackson and John Jackson inflicted cruel and devastating abuse on three child victims over five years. The defendants’ systematic abuse was horrifying and included physical assaults, withholding of food, water, and medical care, and forcing them to ingest hot sauce, among other inhumane treatment. Their victims were innocent and vulnerable children placed in their care, but who were treated with unimaginable cruelty," Sellinger said. "For over a decade, this office has pursued justice for these victims whose childhoods and lives were irretrievably damaged by the defendants’ abuse. The prison sentences imposed today hold Carolyn Jackson and John Jackson accountable for their horrific crimes, and bring a measure of justice for their victims."

Sellinger said the two were first convicted in 2015 on multiple counts of child endangerment in the abuse of their adopted children.

• Read more: Army Major, Accused of Beating Kids and Force Feeding Them Hot Sauce, in Court Tuesday

After being found guilty of numerous offenses, Carolyn Jackson received 24 months in prison and John Jackson received probation plus 400 hours of community service, but the government appealed them and in July 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals found several errors in the sentencing process.

In April 2018, they were resentenced: Carolyn Jackson was given a sentence of 40 months in prison, with credit for time served, and John Jackson was given the same probationary term.

• Read more: Army Parents Get Jail, Probation In Picatinny Abuse Case

Once again, the government appealed, and this time the case was remanded for a second sentencing hearing after errors were discovered.

At the third sentencing hearing, Carolyn Jackson received a time-served sentence with an additional year of supervised release. John Jackson received an 18-month term of home confinement.

The government filed a third appeal against those sentences.

Prosecutors said the U.S. Court of Appeals ordered another resentencing because the district court failed to consider the children's multiple injuries "holistically and in the context of the jury's findings of guilt" in determining causation.

In April 2023, it was reassigned to U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton, who imposed the sentences on Monday.

Since the crimes occurred at Picatinny, it is considered a federal case, officials said.

According to an indictment from 2013, the couple took in two foster children in June 2008 while living at the Picatinny Arsenal. They had taken in another foster child three years prior and eventually legally adopted all three of them, according to documents.

Authorities said that until April 2010, the couple withheld sufficient nourishment and food from their adopted children, withheld adequate water from two of their children, and, at times, prohibited them from drinking water altogether.

The Jacksons also physically assaulted their adopted children with various objects, causing two children to sustain fractured bones (including a fractured spine, a fractured skull and fractured upper arms).

Authorities said that they failed to seek prompt medical attention for their injuries, leading to the partial amputation of one child’s finger and the near-death of another.

The couple told their biological children not to report the physical assaults to others, claiming that the punishments and disciplinary techniques were justified because they were "training" the adopted children how to behave.

"After John Jackson was informed by a family friend that the oldest biological child had revealed the abuse in the Jackson household, John Jackson reported the breach to Carolyn Jackson, who retaliated against that biological child by beating the child 30 times with a belt," authorities said.

“We work tirelessly to seek justice for victims of the cases we investigate,” FBI – Newark Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy said. “Many times, the punishments do not fit the crime. This couple abused developmentally challenged toddlers in ways that seem unimaginable and unbelievably inhumane. They are now facing the justice they deserve—and their victims deserve.”