CLERMONT COUNTY, OH – A Clermont County grand jury has indicted Charles Edmonson, 63, and Matthew Edmonson, 49, on severe allegations of child endangerment involving their five adopted children. The children, three of whom are triplets soon to turn nine, along with others aged 12 and 14, suffered extensive abuse under what was described as horrific conditions in their own home.
The Edmonsons, who originally fostered and then adopted the five special-needs siblings, face up to 18 years in prison if convicted on the five counts of child endangering. The case took a pivotal turn when Charles Edmonson was arrested for sexually abusing another adopted son, now an adult. This led to the discovery of numerous graphic videos that, according to Clermont County Prosecuting Attorney Mark J. Tekulve, depicted treatment “worse than prisoners of war.”
The children reportedly sustained injuries including bruising, bleach burns, and potential internal bleeding, with allegations that their mother downplayed these injuries to medical professionals as typical for special-needs children.