Husband, wife sentenced in NJ fourth time in 'cruel and devastating' abuse on 3 kids
A former Army major and his wife received lengthy sentences Monday for abusing their adopted children.
John E. Jackson, 48, who served as a major in the Army at the Picatinny Arsenal Installation in Morris County, received 108 months in prison. His wife, Carolyn Jackson, 46, received 140 months.
The children — all under the age of 4 at the time and developmentally delayed — had suffered broken bones, deprivation of water, forced ingestion of hot sauce and denial of medical attention, according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.
From 2005 to 2010, the Jacksons engaged in a course of neglect and cruelty towards three children they fostered and eventually adopted. The children sustained fractured bones — spine, skull and arms — and because the parents failed to seek medical attention, one child's finger was amputated and another child nearly died. The Jacksons withheld food, and at times, prohibited two of the children from drinking water, and forced two of them to consume red pepper flakes and hot sauce. One child was forced to ingest excessive sodium, leading to a life-threatening condition twice, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The hearing on Monday was the fourth sentence the Jacksons received. They were both found guilty in 2015 of conspiracy to endanger the welfare of a child and multiple individual counts of endangering the welfare of their children. From that trial, Carolyn Jackson received a two-year sentence, and her husband was ordered to do 400 hours of community service.
John Jackson was discharged from the Army in May 2015.
The government appealed the sentences again and again, as each resentencing through the U.S. Court of Appeals did little to change the original punishment. The Court of Appeals reassigned the sentencing to U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton, who imposed her decision just this week.
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“Carolyn Jackson and John Jackson inflicted cruel and devastating abuse on three child victims over five years," Sellinger said. "Their victims were innocent and vulnerable children placed in their care, but who were treated with unimaginable cruelty. For over a decade, this office has pursued justice for these victims whose childhoods and lives were irretrievably damaged by the defendants’ abuse."
The case falls under federal jurisdiction because the crimes were committed on a military base.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: John and Carolyn Jackson New Jersey: Sentenced child abuse
