Former Georgia Tech linebacker Recardo Wimbush and his wife, Therian Wimbush, have been charged with malicious and intentional cruelty to children, and false imprisonment, for placing the oldest of their 10 children in the basement of their home for what a police spokesman described as "most of the last two years."
"... A lock had been added to the victim's room in January 2013," said Gwinnett County police spokesman Jake Smith, according to ajc.com. "The victim had no access to books, toys, entertainment devices, or his siblings."
An arrest warrant described the condition of the basement as "deplorable", but detectives who searched the house on orders from a judge found the room to be clean. According to Smith, the room was dark and without a light bulb, and its only window was painted white.
Wimbush and his wife told investigators the child, 13, was locked in the basement for disciplinary reasons, and told a family court judge earlier this month that the child was a threat to their other children. Although investigators found the child to be healthy and fed regularly, they have questioned whether the boy had been schooled. A judge ordered removal of all children from the home.
Wimbush played linebacker at Georgia Tech from 1999-2002 and was a team captain in his final season. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Atlanta Falcons, but was cut during the 2003 preseason.
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