Prosecution of father in child and animal abuse case to proceed while charges against pair dropped

A courtroom at the Edmonton Law Courts building, in Edmonton on Friday, June 28, 2019.

Charges have been withdrawn against a man and a woman accused of child and animal abuse in southeast Edmonton.

The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service (ACPS) says the charges against them were withdrawn because they did not meet the standard for prosecution.

APCS says charges against the father of the children, however, will proceed.

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Police originally laid more than 100 charges against two men and a woman.

A publication ban prevents naming them.

The Edmonton Police Service began an investigation into the case on Dec. 1, 2023, after reports of "significant child abuse" against seven children between the ages of two and 13.

"It was reported to police that the children were frequently beaten, strangled and malnourished for years. It is alleged that the accused father regularly subjected the children to punishments whereby they were forced to hold a painful physical position with their hands and feet on the floor for several hours," EPS wrote in a December news release.

"The accused father also used a shock collar to assault some of the children. The father also reportedly beat one of the family's five dogs frequently with a broom handle and tortured it by poking it with a stick through the kennel cage."