‘You’re never getting out’: Parents kept starved 13-year-old locked in dog kennel
Inset, left to right: Lacy Douglas Hocutt Jr. and Rachelleigh Marie Galasso (Wake County Sheriff's Office). Background: The home where the defendants allegedly abused their six kids (WRAL).
A North Carolina couple faces serious criminal charges after authorities said they subjected six children to extreme abuse, including reportedly keeping a 13-year-old confined in a dog kennel under life-threatening conditions. Prosecutors described the home as one of the worst they have ever encountered.
Lacy Douglas Hocutt Jr., 34, and Rachelleigh Marie Galasso, 33, were arrested earlier this week. Hocutt is charged with nine counts of statutory rape, while Galasso faces four counts of negligent child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury, according to court filings.
The investigation began in February following a report that prompted child protective services to remove all six children from the home. The children’s ages ranged from 1 to 15. According to local reports, the 13-year-old found in the kennel was severely underweight and required urgent medical care after being discovered covered in feces and suffering from an E. coli infection.
Prosecutors said the home’s conditions were so unsanitary that investigators had to wear protective gear to enter. An assistant district attorney told the court, “When CPS and the sheriff’s office went out there, it was so filthy that investigators had to wear protective gear.”
The alleged abuse also left lasting psychological effects on the children. The teenager confined in the kennel reportedly now rocks back and repeats, “You’re never getting out. You’re never getting out,” which prosecutors said appears to echo what he was told while imprisoned.
Court documents revealed further neglect. Several children suffered from severe dental problems, requiring extensive treatment, and none of the children had received formal schooling, leaving them unable to read or write.
One child’s scoliosis was reportedly ignored to the point that surgical treatment is no longer an option, leaving the condition permanent. Two other children had so much dental decay that multiple adult teeth had to be removed, making it painful for them to eat solid food.
Hocutt is accused of sexually abusing one of the female children over a period of years, beginning in 2017. Prosecutors stressed that the case ranks among the most extreme instances of abuse they have seen.
Both defendants appeared in court Thursday and were assigned public defenders. Hocutt could face a life sentence if convicted. The couple is being held without bond and is scheduled to appear in court again on April 23.
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