Custodial dad, girlfriend plead not guilty to caging Dad's sons (Vancouver, Washington)

Notice the misleading headline. This wasn't some "couple" (e.g. mother and father) that are accused of caging two boys with autism. It's a custodial dad, JOHN ECKHART, and his live-in girlfriend. The boys are now in foster care, with the boys' mother now attempting to regain custody. So just how did this dad get custody? He obviously wasn't too concerned about caring for the boys himself, was he? Maybe the usual custodial daddy control/abuse agenda? Sure looks likely....

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/04/27/state/n122533D24.DTL

Wash. couple pleads not guilty to caging 2 boysBy NIGEL DUARA, Associated Press

Associated Press April 27, 2011 12:25 PM
Wednesday, April 27, 2011

(04-27) 12:25 PDT Vancouver, Wash. (AP) --

The attorneys for a Washington state couple accused of keeping two autistic boys in a caged room say they'll dispute the police account of the room and bring in medical experts to testify about dealing with children with autism.

Jonny McMullen, defense attorney for the children's father, said the word "cage" was first used by police to describe the living conditions of the boys, ages 5 and 7.

"The word 'cage,' I don't know if that's a fair characterization," McMullen said. He declined to give another word that would better describe the room.

John Eckhart, 30, and Alayna Higdon, 26, each pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of criminal mistreatment and unlawful imprisonment.

Neither spoke during their hearings other than to confirm that they were pleading not guilty. They didn't speak to each other, a fact McMullen attributed to a no-contact order issued by Clark County Superior Court Judge John Wulle.

On April 12, two maintenance workers found the children in a bedroom of an apartment shared by Eckhart and Higdon. The couple also had two other children living in the apartment. The autistic children were Eckhart's from a previous relationship. One of the other children was Higdon's from a previous relationship, and the couple had an 11-month-old child together.

The autistic children are in state foster care, pending a custody hearing. The biological mother, Jona Bronson, of Tillamook, Ore., is seeking long-term placement.

A trial has been set for Sept. 26 in Vancouver.

The room itself was described by the maintenance workers to a police officer as being locked by a door constructed of metal shelves and locked by a karabiner. Inside was a single mattress in a "race car"-like bed. The room smelled of urine, and the boys had picked holes in the walls that were covered by sheets of plywood.

The couple's other two children are staying with family.

"The bottom line," McMullen said, "is that what a parent of a child without autism does is very different from what a parent would do to protect a child from himself."

McMullen said autistic children are more likely to injure themselves, and said he would bring in experts to testify about it at trial.

Brian Walker, Higdon's attorney, said the facts issued by the police are preliminary and inconclusive.

"The facts that have been released barely scratch the surface," Walker said. "There's a lot to be revealed in time."