Feds Appeal ‘Lenient’ Sentence Of Army Parents Who 'Tortured' Children

The sentencing of two parents convicted of abusing their adopted children over a five-year period was too lenient and undermined the court, Attorney General Paul Fishman said.

Fishman’s office has officially appealed the sentences of Carolyn and John Jackson, who lived at the Picatinny Arsenal Base in Morris County when they “tortured” three of their adopted children from 2005 to 2010.

Former Army Major John Jackson received 400 hours of community service for his role in the crimes, while his wife was sentenced to two years in prison for her convictions.

According to Fishman, the punishment did not fit the crimes.

The husband and wife were found guilty of myriad offenses, including breaking the bones and denying medical attention for adopted children under the age of four.

The prosecution sought sentences of 19 and 15 years for Carolyn and John Jackson, respectively.

See related: 2-Year Sentence For Army Wife Who Beat Adopted Kids, Force-Fed Them Hot Sauce

As part of the appeal, embedded below, Fishman states, “No reasonable sentencing court would have imposed such lenient sentences on parents who beat, starved, and neglected their young and defenseless adopted children over a five-year period, contributing to the death of one, almost killing another twice, and causing permanent damage to the survivors.”

Fishman goes on to say that the sentences do not create enough of a deterrent for Carolyn and John Jackson to potentially commit such crimes in the future.

According to evidence from the case, Fishman accused the couple of:

From August 2005 until April 23, 2010, Carolyn and John Jackson conspired to engage in a constant course of neglect and cruelty towards three children they fostered and then adopted. The Jacksons told their biological children not to report the physical assaults to others, saying that the punishments and disciplinary techniques were justified, as 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.

As part of the conspiracy, the Jacksons physically assaulted their adopted children with various objects, causing two children to sustain fractured bones (including a fractured spine, fractured skull and fractured upper arms); failed to seek prompt medical attention for their injuries; 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; forced two of the children to consume foods intended to cause them pain and suffering, such as red pepper flakes and hot sauce, and caused one child to ingest excessive sodium or sodium-laden substances while being deprived of water, leading to a life-threatening condition on two separate occasions in two states. The Jacksons even punished one adopted child, who had to resort to sneaking food and drinking from the toilet, by hitting the child, making the child ingest hot sauce, and forcing the child to eat a raw onion like an apple.

“In every case, our office seeks a sentence that is fair and just in punishing the defendants and offering justice to the victims of their crimes,” Fishman said at the time of sentencing. “In this case, those victims were the children entrusted to the Jacksons’ care. Using the federal sentencing guidelines, our analysis of the crimes of which the Jacksons were convicted by a jury called for severe penalties. Obviously, we are disappointed that the court did not agree.”