Jennifer Stacy appeared in Floyd Circuit Court Thursday for a bond hearing after she was arrested last week for reportedly abusing the children in her care.

Jennifer and her husband Thomas were both scheduled to appear Thursday but Thomas’ bond hearing was rescheduled for next week because his lawyer was not available.

Proceedings continued for Jennifer as Detective Tiffany Bond gave a rundown of the allegations.

According to Bond, four children living in the home were given forensic interviews at Judi’s Place for Kids, during which they told investigators that Jennifer hit them with hands and other items, including a backscratcher. They also say she “even threw knives at them.”

The same allegations were included in the complaint about Thomas. The children also claim that Thomas sexually assaulted them, but they believe Jennifer was “unaware of the sexual abuse in the home.”

Investigators say they also received testimony from another person who once lived in the home, corroborating the children’s stories. That person told officers he moved out at the age of 18 because of similar abuse.

According to Bond, numerous Social Services investigations took place in the past but each investigation uncovered nothing. This, she said, prompted the children to use a mobile device to document the attacks on video. But because the children had to hide the phone to avoid getting caught, so many of those recordings only have usable audio.

“You could hear the children crying and screaming in the videos,” Bond said.

Bond said Thomas was visible in one of the videos and she recognized a female voice in the videos as Jennifer’s, but she was not visible.

Police searched the Stacy home earlier this month and found a broken back scratcher, which the couple confessed to using as a paddle, but “only on their bottom.”

Officials say Jennifer has no criminal history, so her lawyer requested that she be released on home incarceration since the children have been removed from the home.

“The only thing they have right now is what might be her voice on audio,” Borders said.
He added that the charges against Thomas should not “bleed over onto her.”

“She’s not a lifetime criminal. She’s not any kind of criminal. She maintains her right to innocence until proven guilty,” he said. “Her whole life’s falling apart here under mere allegations.”

Judge Johnny Ray Harris said his first priority is the safety of the children, saying he will not change the originally-issued $100,000 full-cash bond until he is sure that anyone who may be in harm’s way is safe.

“I’m gonna have to have some kind of security,” Harris said.

He said he would reconsider a different bond agreement on March 9, once he is presented with the whereabouts and conditions of all of the children and potential victims involved in the case.

Investigators say they are continuing to look into the recent allegations and following up with foster children who have been in the family’s care as far back as 2002.