Teen Says Parents Withheld Food

The eldest of four children allegedly long forbidden from leaving their home has told investigators of other harsh treatment by their parents, including being deprived of food and water. The children--ages 4, 8, 11 and 17--were removed in late January from the family’s home in Harrison Township, Ohio, after the teen, Eddie Sizemore Jr., mailed a letter to his aunt, pleading for help. The parents, Edward and Lucinda Sizemore, remain jailed after pleading not guilty to four counts of nonsupport of a dependent, a misdemeanor. Sizemore Jr. told the Dayton Daily News he was made to sleep on the living room floor in shorts under a sheet of plastic in the winter, and that his parents often barred him from drinking water and eating food.