Left to right: Brian Griffeth, Jill Griffeth, Dallin Griffeth, and Liberty Griffeth (Columbia County Sheriff”s Office).
Earlier this year, a Florida family of four was arrested and accused of subjecting adopted and foster children to myriad forms of abuse. Now, all four have been released from custody after the charges against them were dropped.
Meanwhile, the prosecutor previously in charge of the case is criticizing Sunshine State child welfare agents.
In July, Brian Griffeth, 47, Jill Griffeth, 41, and their biological children, Dallin Griffeth, 21, and Liberty Griffeth, 19, were charged with varying counts of aggravated child abuse. Specifically, Brian, Dallin, and Liberty faced one count apiece; Jill faced three separate counts.
As of Oct. 31, however, each of those cases is formally closed, according to Columbia County court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
In all four cases against all four adult Griffeth family members, Third Judicial Circuit State Attorney John F. Durrett filed a notice of nolle prosequi — a Latin term meaning “unwilling to prosecute.”
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“Depositions with several witnesses presently or formerly employed by the Department of Children and Families were conducted over the last two weeks concerning this case and the reports that were filed,” the notice reads. “The initial complainant has been deposed as well. Throughout these depositions we encountered a series of blame shifting, finger pointing, and outright denials of matters contained within the initial reports and response. All initial salacious gossip concerning children being treated as slaves or incidents of sexual abuse were determined to be unfounded in this investigation.”
The prosecutor goes on to categorize the allegations made by child welfare agents as “incredulous statements” and says they must be taken away in order to address the case “independently.”
“Although probable cause was established in the early stages via warrant, the discovery process has revealed information the State of Florida cannot refute,” each non-prosecution notice goes on.
The initial charging document includes a rising array of claims against the family that began with allegations one of the children was caught with a “Taser” at a church camp in Branford – a tiny town located roughly 45 miles northwest of Gainesville. That purported find led to the welfare investigation and the since-dropped criminal charges.
Now, in no uncertain terms, the state says the basis of the actual charged conduct is wholly lacking any criminal component.
The non-prosecution notice reads, at length:
The aggravated child abuse alleged in Count 1 of the State’s Information or charging document pertains exclusively to the action of “unlawful caging”. It is alleged that the victim was confined within a modified bunk bed with limited space and that his mother would at times secure a piece of particle board over the opening preventing the child from exiting his bed. Wooden boards run the length of the bunk allowing the child to be seen but not exit if secured or “caged” by his mother.
A heavily-redacted section of the document goes on to say the state did not previously consider “information on the history of the child.” Then, the notice appears to assert the child in question has long engaged in “violence against other children, adults, and animals.”
Then, the notice characterizes the Griffeth family as simply doing the best it can with the hand it was dealt, including such a child — while admitting that a conviction would be unlikely.
“A jury would be asked to consider: a poor family, devout in their faith, and raising 9 minor children in a small home, addressing the situation in a manner they deem appropriate to ensure the safety and security of the alleged victim and to also ensure no acts of violence were perpetrated upon the other children,” the notice goes on. “The State cannot refute such an argument, and this matter cannot be presented to a jury with liberty at stake.”
The second and third counts, which again only concerned Jill Griffeth, were directly linked to allegations the adoptive mother sprayed her children with vinegar as punishment. In the charging document, one adopted child recounted an incident in which she was “sprayed before bed by her mother and how the vinegar burned her eyes making her cry herself to sleep.”
Now, the state says the vinegar punishment in question was a “diluted solution” and homemade attempt to mimic a product called “Sassy Spray,” which itself is a combination of vinegar and vegetable juice used as a modern-day equivalent of “soap in the mouth.”
The notice says “numerous outlets” sell the product.
“In lieu of soap, apple cider vinegar is sprayed into the child’s mouth,” the document goes on. “Said action does not constitute child abuse.”
