CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – New details emerged Tuesday about a Christiansburg couple’s alleged child abuse inside a home that search warrants say was filthy and filled with feces.
A prosecutor said there was “severe physical abuse” and explained some of the evidence against Benjamin Crockett, 32, at a hearing Tuesday. Crockett and his wife, Victoria Crockett, 30, each face four felony counts of child abuse and neglect.
Judge Stephanie Murray Shortt set the mother’s bond at $5,000 in Montgomery County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court and denied bond for her husband, citing the fact that he has prior felony convictions and doesn’t have a place to live.
Shortt set a July 9 date for a preliminary hearing for both of them.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Cristina Agee said that the mother’s three sons, who are ages 7, 10, and 11 and from another marriage, have given details of their abuse. She described some of their statements about Benjamin Crockett’s actions to the judge.
She said the boys said he punched and kicked them in the stomach, knocking the wind out of them, one time doing so so hard that his brother said he went “across the room.” He gave one of them black eyes and a chipped cheekbone. He tied one of them to a bed for a long period of time.
She said there’s evidence alcohol was involved in some of the incidents.
She said the boys reported that he told them to lie about the abuse and say their brothers did it if anyone asked. The boys said their mother ignored the incidents.
The stepfather’s defense attorney said the credibility of the boys may be in question.
Benjamin Crockett said Tuesday in court he’s not employed and wouldn’t have anywhere to live if the judge granted bond. He was arraigned Monday on a gun charge and is awaiting a bond hearing.
The Crocketts also have a 1-year-old daughter together. The children are now with other family members, according to a search warrant.
The biological father of the three boys, Jason Roscoe, told 10 News Tuesday that he’s submitting paperwork to try to have his kids come live with him in New York. He said him getting custody is a “clear-cut case.”
He said Thursday that he’s learned about many details of what happened from 10 News.
"I didn't know what was going on but the children are safe. That's all that really matters,” he said Thursday.
A neighbor, Desiree Swindell, said she saw some pictures of the inside of the house.
“It was awful, sub-flooring, feces everywhere, like everywhere. You walk up to the door and you can smell it. I don't know how anyone lived in there,” she said.
Agee said Tuesday that when officers served the warrants to the defendants they were packing the trunk of a car, appearing to be trying to leave.
She said Victoria Crockett’s grandfather had talked to officers about potential abuse but there were no findings as a result of those reports. The recent investigation came after someone made an anonymous call to police.
As 10 News reported Thursday, search warrants show the entire downstairs floor was matted with dog feces causing an “unbearable smell.” There were dog feces in almost every room of the house and on some of the walls. Investigators found dog feces in one child’s bedroom and a child’s clothes soaked in dog urine inside a dresser. There was mold and dirty dishes in the kitchen.
Investigators found a large box inside the home that contained nine pistols, all loaded with a round in the chamber, plus seven cases of ammunition sitting on the floor at the front door.
There were a total of 19 dogs on the property, including some puppies in the basement, and many of them were living in their own filth.
The house is on Dow Street, close to Christiansburg Middle School.