Four Florida adults just got busted for one twisted punishment that will make your blood boil

A church whistleblower just exposed a nightmare that was hiding in plain sight.

Nine innocent children were living through hell while their so-called “parents” put on a show for the community.

And four Florida adults just got busted for one twisted punishment that will make your blood boil.

Church member’s courage exposes horrific abuse scheme

The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests of four family members: parents Brian Matthew Griffeth, 47, and Jill Elizabeth Griffeth, 41, along with their adult children Dallin Russel Griffeth, 21, and Liberty Ann Griffeth, 19.¹

These four monsters had been systematically torturing nine children – five biological and four adopted – ranging in age from 7 to 16 years old.

The sick operation finally came crashing down when a mandatory reporter at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Branford, Florida raised concerns about the children’s treatment.

What triggered the investigation? One of the Griffeth children showed up to church camp carrying a functioning electric stun gun.²

https://twitter.com/margaretsiegien/status/1949861035063525600

When questioned, Brian Griffeth insisted the weapon was just a “toy and fake,” but officials later determined it was real.

That lie was just the tip of the iceberg.

The horrifying truth about what happened inside that Fort White home

When Florida Department of Children and Families investigators arrived at the family’s mobile home in Fort White – about 35 miles northwest of Gainesville – they walked into a scene straight out of a horror movie.

The adopted children were busy doing chores while the biological children played and watched television.³

But that was nothing compared to what investigators discovered next.

The four adults had been “caging” children underneath bunk beds by screwing pieces of plywood over the openings, trapping them like animals.

One 14-year-old boy told investigators during a therapy session that he would sometimes be “caged in his bunk bed at home as punishment,” and in a follow-up interview said his parents would routinely use a piece of plywood to cover up the only entrance to the bottom tier of his three-tiered bunk bed, making him wait through the night into the next morning to use the bathroom.⁴

The abuse didn’t stop there.

Jill Griffeth would spray vinegar in the children’s faces as punishment and force them to lie on the floor while pressing plywood sheets on top of them, causing pain and leaving splinters in their skin.

Brian Griffeth beat the adopted and foster children with a cane, but investigators noted he was “careful not to leave a mark” – showing this wasn’t random violence but calculated torture designed to avoid detection.⁵

The systematic discrimination that should outrage every American

Here’s what really exposes the evil mindset behind this operation: the biological children lived like royalty while the adopted kids were treated like slaves.

Church officials told authorities the Griffeths “primarily foster or adopt African American children” and expressed concerns these children were being treated unfairly compared to the biological children.⁶

The adopted children didn’t even know their own birthdays or full names.

They hadn’t been to school in years and couldn’t read or write.

When there wasn’t enough food, the foster and adopted children simply went without while the biological children ate their fill.

The adults also coached the children to lie about their living conditions and “never provided proper schooling for the kids in reading or writing,” according to the sheriff’s office.

One 14-year-old girl described herself as “illiterate,” telling investigators she hadn’t been to school in years.⁷

A 10th child who had been living with the family as a foster child was found living with their biological parents in Arizona, unharmed. The girl had moved to Florida with the family in 2024, but “called her mother, begging to come get her.”

That girl’s mother has now accused at least one of the Griffeth adults of sexual assault against one of the children.⁸

Justice finally comes for these monsters

Sheriff’s deputies arrested all four adults on July 22 and charged them with aggravated child abuse.

Brian, Jill, and Dallin Griffeth are each being held on $500,000 bonds, while court records show Jill Griffeth’s bond is listed as $1.5 million.⁹

All nine children have been removed from the home under a court order and are now in the care of the Department of Children and Families.

¹ Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, “Four Adults Arrested for Aggravated Child Abuse,” Facebook, July 27, 2025.

² Nicholas McEntyre, “Florida Griffeth family caged adopted and foster children, sprayed vinegar in their faces as 9 kids rescued from home: cops,” New York Post, July 27, 2025.

³ Ibid.

⁴ Escher Walcott, “Florida Family Arrested for Alleged Child Abuse, Accused of Beating and Locking Adopted Kids Underneath Floorboards,” People, July 27, 2025.

⁵ McEntyre, “Florida Griffeth family caged adopted and foster children,” New York Post.

⁶ Walcott, “Florida Family Arrested for Alleged Child Abuse,” People.

⁷ McEntyre, “Florida Griffeth family caged adopted and foster children,” New York Post.

⁸ Ibid.

⁹ Walcott, “Florida Family Arrested for Alleged Child Abuse,” People.