N.C. 6 Brothers Charged With Sexual Assault of Sister While Parents Looked On

6 Brothers Charged With Sexual Assault of Sister While Parents Looked On

by Jenny Erikson May 13 at 6:19 PM

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This is one of the most sick and twisted stories of incest and abuse that I've heard in a while. Six brothers from a small county in North Carolina have been charged with the sexual assault of their little sister, 16, who allegedly endured their abuse from the time she was four until she was almost 15.

Perquimans County Sheriff Eric Tilley said he was "disgusted" by the situation, and by that I'm sure he meant throw up in my mouth and weep for humanity appalled. He also said he blamed the parents. "It's your responsibility as a parent to teach [your children] right and wrong," he said. "When you see a child doing something that is totally wrong and you don't correct them, then the child thinks it's OK."

All six brothers purportedly participated in the alleged abuse, which ranges from rape to sexual assault. Aaron Jackson, 19, Benjamin Jackson, also 19, Nathaniel Jackson, 21, Mathew Jackson, 23, Jon Jackson, 25, and Eric Jackson, 27, were arrested last week and are being held on $150,000 bond. Their parents, John Jackson, 65, and Nita Jackson, 54, were also charged with felony child abuse, as they were aware of the attacks yet did nothing to stop it.

Tilley said, "Part of the investigation revealed that, at one point, the mother observed some of this activity and never did anything about it."

The investigation into the reclusive, "bizarre" family began in December 2012, when Eric Jackson confided to his pastor about the abuse. Tilley said that the pastor told him, "You know, that's not a normal situation. That's not the way a normal family lives, you know, this is absolutely wrong and to do the right thing, you need to go and talk with the authorities."

"When he came in and told us that, our initial belief was that we probably wouldn't get far with this case. We probably knew we were gonna get some resistance because this family is, like I said, they're close-knit. They stay to themselves, you know, they didn't go to school, so they're not really out socially," Tilley said.

The father is described as being "anti-government" and "anti-schools." Sheriff Tilley said, "The children were home schooled with very limited education ... they were very private and the whole yard has a fence around it -- like a little compound. They're very different."

The authorities had two more of the brother confirm the allegations, but didn't have enough evidence to make an arrest. Before they could could speak to the girl, the family relocated. "Her parents refused to let us talk to her and [they] moved to Colorado," said Tilley.

The Department of Human Services in Colorado Springs was able to take custody of the victim, and in an eight-hour interview, the teen confirmed everything her brothers had confessed.

The brothers and parents were indicted by a grand jury in North Carolina in April, and are due in court May 19. The parents are not cooperating with the police, and are said to have fled back to Colorado after posting bond.

Talk about heartbreakingly tragic! This is one of those cases where it seems like the parents got off too easily. Those poor kids never had a shot! Even just the fact that they eventually got up the courage to talk to a pastor about it ... they likely didn't understand what they were doing for many years, due to a horrible, neglectful upbringing.

The sheriff said that even thought they were supposedly home-schooled, the oldest had trouble even writing his own name. Absolutely devastating for all of these siblings -- most especially for the girl, but even for the boys who may not have been consciously aware of what they were doing, and now have to live with what they did.

Video | News | Weather | Sports Mon May 12 11:10:58 PDT 2014

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