COLUMBIA COUNTY, Fla. — Charges have been dropped against a local family accused of physically and sexually abusing their children.
Action News Jax told you this summer when Jill and Brian Griffeth, along with their adult children Dallin and Liberty Ann, were arrested on child cruelty charges.
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The charges were dropped on Friday, court records show.
“All initial salacious gossip concerning children being treated as slaves or incidents of sexual abuse were determined to be unfounded in this investigation,” the state said in a document about its decision to drop charges.
With respect to child abuse charges, allegations against the family included a child being locked in a homemade cage, beaten with a cane, and sprayed in the face with vinegar as punishment.
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According to the State Attorney’s Office, the so-called “caging” was the family’s method to “ensure no acts of violence were perpetrated on the other children.”
The “vinegar” sprayed in two of the children’s faces was found to be “a homemade version of ‘Sassy Spray’ a product sold in numerous outlets as a modern version of soap in the mouth,” the document said. “ ... Said action does not constitute child abuse.”
Read the full document from the State Attorney’s Office below:
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