NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com | Neighbor Of Owasso Couple Accused Of Child Abuse Voices Concern

Neighbor Of Owasso Couple Accused Of Child Abuse Voices Concern

By Tara Vreeland, The News On 6

OWASSO, OK -- An Owasso couple was arrested after police say they left their two adopted teenage children outside in the cold and rain for about five hours Saturday night.

Police originally reported they were foster parents, but The News On 6 has since learned they had adopted the teens they are accused of abusing.

The parents are out of jail.

Officers say the parents took their two biological children to dinner and a movie and locked the other two out of the house, which the teenagers say was not uncommon.

“I woke up crying this morning,” said Debi Douthit, a neighbor of the family. “I was like ‘why couldn't I have done something? Why couldn't I have noticed something more?’”

Debi Douthit says she came home at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday to see cop cars at the home. She says she immediately thought about the kids, who she says constantly wandered the neighborhood.

“I was concerned about them, I really was. I wanted to know why they were always outside. They were just walking and they didn't look happy,” said Douthit.

Garold McMillian, 42, and his wife, 42-year-old Sherry, were arrested on two complaints of child abuse.

According to the police report, the couple left the 14-year-old and 15-year-old adopted children outside while they took their two biological kids to a friend’s house in Collinsville for dinner and movies.

Officers reported they found a girl with no shoes, who was shivering outside the house at about 11:00 p.m. Saturday. Her brother, police say, was in the backyard in a play fort.

“You could probably talk to any of the neighbors in this area and they would tell you those kids are out walking. You don't ever see them at home or in the yard or on the porch. They are usually away from the house, so I figured there must be a reason why they left all the time,” said Douthit.

The McMillian's told police they were having discipline issues with the kids, who they say would take kitchen knives and try to harm themselves if they were left in the house. So, they chose to lock them outside, according to the report.

The McMillian’s were taken to the Owasso Municipal jail. They bonded out early Sunday afternoon.

Because the children were adopted, DHS says it's up to the parents to reach out to DHS if they need help. DHS says they make monthly visits to foster families, not adopted families. The children, adopted and biological, were taken into state custody.

11/15/2009  Related Story: Owasso Couple Arrested Over The Weekend For Felony Child Abuse