Joshua Haynes & Christine Bergen Jailed After Kids Allegedly Found Bruised & Filthy

[Whisper]

Couple jailed after kids found bruised, house filthy

GALLATIN, Tenn. – A Gallatin couple was arrested last weekend after officers discovered bruising on their young children's bottoms and their home covered in dog feces.
Officers responded to the family's home on Saturday following reports from neighbors that Joshua Moses Haynes and Angela Bergen were forcing their children, ages four and eight, to perform "military disciplinary actions" in their front yard, including push-ups, sit-ups and running.
Witnesses also reported the pair were observed yelling and blowing whistles at the kids, forcing them to put their faces into the dirt, "and possibly made them eat it," according to affidavits filed in Sumner County General Sessions Court.
Officials later the discovered the children had bruises on their bottoms, caused by spankings with a rubber spoon.
According to a report in the Gallatin News Examiner, a walkthrough of the family's home revealed messy living conditions, including dog feces on the walls and floor, uncovered food on the counters and roaches running across the floor.
Two front windows were also observed to broken with no attempts at repair, the paper reported.
Haynes and Bergen were arrested and charged with child abuse or neglect. Haynes was additionally charged with three counts of aggravated assault.
Haynes' bond was set at $75,000 for the aggravated assault charges and $10,000 for the abuse charge. Bergen's bond has been set at $5,000.
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http://www.wkrn.com/Global/story.asp?S=13357240

Angela Bergen

Joshua Haynes

[Mommyof2]

Every time I read a story like this it takes me back to a day I wish I could forget. A friend asks me to take him to his cousins house and I agreed to do it. We get there and the cousin was up at the corner store and the wife tells us to come inside and wait for him. As soon as I hit the door the smell hit me like a ton of bricks. There were two toddler aged boys in underwear that were once white now brown front to back.. We stepped into the kitchen and the wife hurried to tend to the dishes but there was dog pee and poop everywhere on the floor.

By this time I was ready to vomit. I couldn't take another minute in that house. I excused myself and went and sat in the front yard. The smell was so bad that I was still gagging as we drove down the road. My friend thought it was really funny.. Me not so much! And Yes, I did call and report it. Not sure if anything happened as I never went back but that place was a nightmare!

[misssmartypants]

Oh mommyof2, that happen to me also. My nieghbor and I were debateing who should go over to the house next door. There was fighting, gunfire, and a baby and a toddler in the house. Cops had been there, but we didnt know if the mom and kids were there. I knocked, opened door, and it smelled like a butthole. They had raised dogs in there also, the puppies were covered with piss and shit. The whole room was piss and shit.It was dragged all over the house. My friend and I said fuck it, and cleaned that house. I had to use a shovel in the puppie room! Cockroaches, broken glass, moldy fridge, rats and rat shit...holy cow. I have never seen the like. I was super pissed. They lost the kids, divorced. But what was funny that my friend was retching, and I wasnt. I was smokin and drinking my coffee. She couldnt believe it.

[carolinablue]

I know someone who grew up in a house like that, poor kid. She eventually became one of my d-fams (daughter from another mother), and is now the biggest neat freak in our family! The first time I went in her family home my eyes started stinging and my sinuses closed up; I just can't imagine kids living like that. And the adults just sat there on their nasty furniture with that pee and poop smell everywhere. The carpet (I guess that's what was under the filth) and upholstery were slick and greasy, petrified dog shit was everywhere and the kitchen looked like a landfill. There were roaches everywhere, even scuttling up the walls while I was talking to the family. They barely looked away from the tv while C. was gathering clothes to come to our house to "stay for a while". Turned into an 8 year "visit". Makes me want to firebomb! Live like nasty pigs if you want to, but not with kids in the house!

[Cassy]

Our house was like that growing up. Cat crap and even vomit everywhere. Roaches at one point. Ashtrays overflowing with 100s of butts on every surface. You could screatch your name in the nicotine residue on the walls. Dishes never cleaned. Rotting, uncovered food in the fridge. We dried on pillow cases, because laundry was rarely done. My "parents" allowed me to change my bed sheets about every six months. I shudder even thinking about it.

When I moved out as a teen I became obsessed with cleaning my apartment. I never let anyone in it because no matter how neat and clean it was it was never clean enough for me.

I now live in a typically messy family home, but I'm never comfortable...I can never be comfortable unless it's out-of-the-box perfect.

[62julietandvoid]

I've been in some bad houses in my younger years but I have never seen one that was disgusting as the stories here on DD. Dishes filthy and every were, trash every where, clothes etc. But not filled with shit & piss, dead animals etc. Most fucked up thing I remember was coming over to a friend of a friend's new residence and dude showed us a pocket pussy THAT HE'S FOUND IN A DUMPSTER.

These people were not the smartest people, guess he just thought it was cool?

[62julietandvoid]

Our house was like that growing up. Cat crap and even vomit everywhere. Roaches at one point. Ashtrays overflowing with 100s of butts on every surface. You could screatch your name in the nicotine residue on the walls. Dishes never cleaned. Rotting, uncovered food in the fridge. We dried on pillow cases, because laundry was rarely done. My "parents" allowed me to change my bed sheets about every six months. I shudder even thinking about it.

When I moved out as a teen I became obsessed with cleaning my apartment. I never let anyone in it because no matter how neat and clean it was it was never clean enough for me.

I now live in a typically messy family home, but I'm never comfortable...I can never be comfortable unless it's out-of-the-box perfect.

Sorry you had to live that way growing up. Our "home" got bad once right after my father left our mother, not shit or vomit everywhere. There was a lot of tomcat spray tho because I had a young tom and my dad didn't even have us any living room furniture let alone a washer/dryer, food etc. Baisicly he moved my mom, sister and I in there and left us for his new thang. It didn't help that mom went downhill emotionally and mentally, she ended up going somewhere to stabilize her. After a rocky time some of dad's family and friends became aware of the situation and they, along with my mom's mom came together and pulled us all out of that situation. I feel for those that have/had to live like that growing up.

[Pene784]

Officers responded to the family's home on Saturday following reports from neighbors that Joshua Moses Haynes and Angela Bergen were forcing their children, ages four and eight, to perform "military disciplinary actions" in their front yard, including push-ups, sit-ups and running.

It is always amazing to me how these adults are always all about the discipline for the children and do not use one once of discipline for themselves.

[VXIII]

Oh mommyof2, that happen to me also. My nieghbor and I were debateing who should go over to the house next door. There was fighting, gunfire, and a baby and a toddler in the house. Cops had been there, but we didnt know if the mom and kids were there. I knocked, opened door, and it smelled like a butthole. They had raised dogs in there also, the puppies were covered with piss and shit. The whole room was piss and shit.It was dragged all over the house. My friend and I said fuck it, and cleaned that house. I had to use a shovel in the puppie room! Cockroaches, broken glass, moldy fridge, rats and rat shit...holy cow. I have never seen the like. I was super pissed. They lost the kids, divorced. But what was funny that my friend was retching, and I wasnt. I was smokin and drinking my coffee. She couldnt believe it.

What happened to the Puppies?

[misssmartypants]

What happened to the Puppies?

My friend told me to take one home. It was the runty and was sooo cute. My grand girl and I took pictures of her(puppy) and named her Lulu.. We had to give her back. I tried everything to convince my honey. My other dog was trying to eat her, and my husband didnt want the crazy bullshit to come to our house. It was total mayhem over there. Plus those dogs went for 1100 a piece. I still miss her.But the other puppies, ( who were cute too, but not as much as Lulu) 2 died, and the others were taken by friends of the owner. It was sad all around, plus that the kids are now separated in foster care. We really liked that little girl. I even would take her with us to school functions, so it wouldnt be so scary when kindergarten started. I never went into that house before, so I had no idea that it was a hell hole. They had been living there for only a few months. And the kid was always clean, its weird now when you look back on it.

[CountryMomma]

Unfortunately a lot of kids grow up like this :( My sister and I were among them. My mother never cleaned, our dad did drugs out of the house and there was a lot of wifebeating going on. I can remember dog poop everywhere, our rooms always being filthy and dishes always piled up. When we moved closer to our grandparents and our mom found a new man things quickly turned for the worse. We were treated like crap, he molested my sister (although no charges were ever pressed because my mother and that animal had CPS convinced we were liars), beaten with fly swatters and made to clean while my mother either sat around or laid on her back. We werent allowed to watch television, sit on the furniture or even have friends. If we didn't make straight A's in school we were severely punished. We never had new clothes bought for us - we had to earn them and we weren't allowed to see our real father even after the courts constantly ordered our mother to hand us over every weekend. The summer I turned 16, we went to church camp and told our counselors what was going on. They contacted police, who in turn contacted our father and a judge quickly ordered an emergency court case to allow us to live with our father. Although it got us out of the situation we were in things quickly turned for the worse - I was an alcholic and drug addict by the time I was 17 and my sister was having sex at 13 and 14 years old. It was a bad situation all around and when our father was fed up with us he sent us to live with our grandparents. Thank God my grandparents are old school and didnt put up with any bullshit - I got sober and finished high school with a 3.86 GPA and even went to college. My sisters life was straight for a little bit until she decided to go live with our mother again and the situation quickly turned the same. She shacked up with some guy, got knocked up and her beat her until she lost the baby. I had her come move in with me and she got knocked up again but this time has her life together and my beautiful neice.

Now as a mother I strive to do my best for my kids. My house isnt perfect, the dishes arent always done and theres clean laundry in baskets all over my room. No dog or cat poop or roaches - but there are plenty of toys everywhere. My kids are happy and healthy and I get to spend lots of time with my kids :)

[defender]

Some people only think of abuse as physical abuse, it can manifest as emotional or mental abuse as well. I call all of the above mental abuse. It brings the same amount of shame to young, impressionable minds and leaves the same kind of scarring as getting the shit kicked out of you daily.

[Silvahalo]

Sorry for all of you who went through childhood that way.

I won't go into all the details of my tale of filth. Lets just say, the roaches had a place in our home, seems they took over everything, A toilet that was not fit for outside use, and a mother who hoarded everything. Small piss ant size trailer, with 7 people and a dozen cats and 4 dogs and 2 chickens that freely roamed in and out the home. No way for children to live for sure.

I'm glad someone had the sense to call the authorities on these dumb, smelly shits. Hope the kiddo's get a better place to lay their head and bottoms that are not bruised from constantly being spanked.

[Silkprints]

I was thinking the very same thing Pene .
I cannot imagine stepping over dog or cat poops in my yard nevermind my house ..GROSS!
I can't stand bad smells . I bribe my kids to change the kitty box every few days . My house isn't perfect but I also don't have little ones anymore so it's easier but my guys are slobs . I hate dirty sinks ..that's a peeve or something ..It's always with the dishes too . DO your dam dishes LOL ! Poor kids I am glad that someone called or this could have been a whole lot worse

[carolinablue]

My house is old, my furniture is shabby...but I spend hours a day keeping it clean and smelling good. There are fresh flowers in every room in season and pine and cedar branches in winter. I make quilts to decorate the walls and furniture and you could eat soup off my kitchen floor. The bathrooms are scrubbed daily, with a scrub brush, then mopped clean. There's a litter box for every 2 cats and they are scooped every few hours (I'm a slave to those damn cats) and emptied every 3 days and scrubbed with Lysol. I grew up in filth and foul smells, I wouldn't bring anyone home. I know I'm OCD about my home, but keeping house is my job, and I do it damn well. Charlie has turned it into a toy box, but damn! it's clean!