This week, a couple from Tennessee admitted guilt in a case of aggravated child abuse and neglect, following an incident over a year ago when one of their four adopted daughters was found to be severely undernourished after collapsing.
Another daughter, who is the biological sister of the first, was also discovered in a similar state of malnutrition. The couple, Jason and Jessica Klimp, alerted emergency services when the 12-year-old girl fainted, according to a report by WBIR.
The court sentenced the Klimps to a decade behind bars without the possibility of parole and imposed a permanent no-contact order with the two affected children.
It remains uncertain if this order extends to their other two adopted children. Additionally, the Klimps are parents to four biological children, whose current whereabouts are unclear. At the time of the Klimps’ arrest, a report was filed with the state Department of Children’s Services, as noted by WVLT.
The arrest warrant revealed that the 12-year-old girl struggled to recall details of the event that led to her hospitalization, only remembering that she collapsed for an unknown reason.
The warrant further disclosed that when questioned about her diet at home, the girl mentioned being fed from a bottle because she and her sister were told they consumed too much and would become ill. However, she was unable to provide further explanation.
Jason Klimp told investigators that he pureed their food because the two malnourished girls couldn’t eat solid food because of “trauma” they’d been through before they were adopted nine years ago.
The children also told investigators that the victim and her sister slept in plastic totes in the basement as punishment for wetting the bed. The children further said the girls weren’t allowed blankets in the basement, which was normally around 60 degrees.
Responding deputies thought the girl who had collapsed was 6 to 8 years old when they responded to the 911 call, WBIR said. The child’s true age was discovered after she was taken to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville.
A paramedic who responded to the scene said that the girl’s body temperature was 95.6 degrees and that her skin was so discolored that the called for a helicopter to take her to Knoxville.
The Klimps have been behind bars in Tennessee since February 2024, when they were arrested, and that will count as time served on their sentences. They will be allowed to serve the remainder in the home state of Michigan.
