Bella Vista couple pleads not guilty to mistreating children

A Bella Vista couple pleaded not guilty to charges in connection with the suspected mistreatment of three children living in their home.

James Ogborn Jr., 37, and Janefer Ogborn, 32, entered the pleas Monday during their arraignments before Circuit Judge Brad Karren.

The Ogborns were arrested Aug. 17. James Ogborn is charged with false imprisonment in the first degree, a Class C felony, along with permitting abuse of a minor and endangering welfare of a minor in the first degree, both Class D felonies.

Janefer Ogborn is also charged with the endangering and false imprisonment charges. She is also charged with aggravated assault, a Class D felony, and battery in the third degree, a Class A misdemeanor.

Bentonville attorney Mike Armstrong, who represents the Ogborns, declined to comment on the case.

The couple's arrest came after Bella Vista police responded to a call from the Ogborns' home reporting that a teenage boy claimed that his mother had kicked and hit him during an altercation.

The 15-year-old teenage boy and two other children in the home — a 12-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl — were described by a police officer as looking like they came from “a Holocaust concentration camp” because they were very thin and extremely pale-skinned, according court documents. The officer described the children as having thin hair and sunken eyes with pale and ashy skin, according to court documents

The children complained of being hungry and thirsty; they weren’t allowed to eat with other children in the home; they were allowed to sleep only on the floor, and they were locked in their room and watched by camera, according to court documents.

The couple told police the cameras were not working, according to court documents.

The Ogborns were released from custody on citation after their arrests.

Janefer Ogborn was a bus driver for the Bentonville School District, but she resigned her position following her arrest.

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