A Licking County grand jury has indicted an Etna Township couple on 11 counts of child endangerment each, according to court records reported by the Newark Advocate on Nov. 5. Jonathan Parr, 37, and Jacquelyn Coleman, 32, are accused of endangering their nine children in a case that began last month when deputies searched the couple’s home and a child protective services agency took custody of the children. The indictment alleges the crimes occurred between April and October 2026, the Newark Advocate reported.
Parr and Coleman remained in the Licking County Justice Center in lieu of $150,000 bond each as of Nov. 5, according to the Newark Advocate. Both are presumed innocent, and neither has been convicted of any charge in the case. The allegations in the indictment and in court records have not been proven in court.
The case began Oct. 13, when Licking County deputies arrested the couple after searching their home in the 13600 block of National Road SW in Etna Township, the Newark Advocate and The Columbus Dispatch both reported. Licking County Child Protective Services took custody of the couple’s nine children, whose ages range from 1 to 13, according to the sheriff’s office as reported by the Newark Advocate.
Deputies began investigating after a referral from Child Protective Services, which followed a report of alleged abuse and neglect from a Licking County school district, according to the Newark Advocate. The sheriff’s office described the home’s conditions as filthy and bug-infested, and officials called the conditions “horrific” and “disgusting” after the arrest, the Newark Advocate reported.
Court records and the sheriff’s office incident report allege that some children were forced to stand against a wall for hours and that nails were placed by children’s toes while they stood, according to the Newark Advocate. The Columbus Dispatch reported Oct. 16 that court documents cited suspicions of physical abuse, including failure to provide food and water. Sheriff’s Capt. Jay Cook clarified that the “cage” referenced in the case was an unfolded cage used as a barrier in a doorway, not a cage children were found inside, according to earlier reporting on the sheriff’s office account.
At his Oct. 14 bond hearing, Parr denied the allegations. “It’s not true. I didn’t keep anybody in cages or [commit] any of the other charges. I love my kids. I would die for my kids,” he told the court, The Columbus Dispatch reported. Cook urged the public to report suspected abuse, telling reporters, “It comes down to if you see something, say something. We have to speak up so we can help some of these kids,” The Columbus Dispatch reported. The Advocate also reported that deputies had conducted a welfare check at the same home in 2023 and cleared the scene after finding nothing alarming at that time.
The case now proceeds in Licking County Common Pleas Court in Newark on the indicted charges, with both defendants held at the Licking County Justice Center. The nine children remain in the custody of Licking County Child Protective Services, as reported since Oct. 13. No next hearing date was reported in the Nov. 5 indictment coverage.