Affidavit: Osage County Couple Forced Children To Eat Vomit, Manure

Wednesday, March 14th 2012, 5:50 pm

By: News On 6

Editor's Note: Some of the details in this story are graphic and may be upsetting to readers.

A disturbing case of child abuse has put an Osage County couple behind bars.

The married couple who lives west of Sperry is charged with felony child abuse that investigators believe amounts to torture.

Aubrey and Lora Lee Thomas are accused of violently beating their adopted children and forcing them to perform sex acts.

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services removed some, but not all of the kids from the household in 2003.

The Osage County Sheriff's Office came across the Thomas' when the kids started running away and were terrified to go back home.

A female child revealed to a behavioral counselor in October 2011 the abuse in the home and Osage County Sheriff's Office began investigating.

Investigators say the home schooled children were coached not to say anything about the alleged abuse.

Read The Affidavit [Warning: Graphic]

Investigators call the Osage County residence a house of horrors and say what happened inside is downright torture.

"She was terrified and filthy and hungry," said neighbor Kathy Davenport.

Kathy Davenport remembers the day one of the Thomas' girls ran to her house down the street and begged for food.

"She just reminded me of a scared little girl who didn't want to go back to her home," she said.

Davenport fed the little girl, but authorities returned the child to her parents a few hours later. Davenport says she knew something wasn't right, but never imagined all the wrongs listed in the court documents.

The children's allegations include being forced to eat gum off of Aubrey Thomas' penis, forced to perform oral sex on their adoptive siblings for food, forced to put urine soaked panties in their mouth if they wet the bed, forced to eat their vomit and forced to eat horse manure for not cleaning a horse pen.

"It's probably one of the worst cases that I know of that's happened around here in a long time," said Lou Ann Brown, Osage County Undersheriff.

Undersheriff Brown says Lora Thomas had numerous child abuse books in the house, including "A Child Called It."

Brown says the punishment written about in the book parallels the torture inflicted on the Thomas children.

Court documents show an investigator tracked down a biological daughter of the Thomas' who confirmed the children's claims and who says the girls got the brunt of the abuse.

"To treat a child like that is beyond my imagination," Brown said.

Davenport now realizes the few hours the little girl spent with her may have been the most peaceful time of the child's life.

DHS says the Thomas's became foster parents in 1997. According to sheriff's investigators, two foster children showed signs of physical abuse and were removed from the home in 2003 when they lived in Rogers County.

However, the other four foster children were left with the Thomas' and then eventually adopted by the family. The Thomas' then moved to Osage County.

Aubrey Thomas has bonded out of jail and Lora Thomas remains behind bars on a $50,000 bond. Child sexual abuse charges could be filed against the couple soon. The four children are now in protective custody.

DHS released the following statement Wednesday:

The horrendous acts of abuse this couple is accused of committing against these children are sickening. Our primary concern is for the well-being of these children and getting them the care and treatment they need.

We are rigorously reviewing this case to find any mistakes made by our agency or others during the years of involvement with this family. We are asking the same questions of our staff about this case that everyone wants to know.

This is absolutely intolerable. It is our mission to protect children and we will take whatever corrective action is needed to ensure this does not happen in the future.