Ultra-religious former college football star locked one of his ten children alone in a basement with blacked-out windows for TWO YEARS because the boy, 13, had 'sinned' by stealing a DVD player

  • Recardo Wimbush, Sr, 33, and Therian Cornelia Wimbush, 37, have been arrested for child abuse
  • They allegedly locked their 13-year-old son in a basement for two years
  • The boy was being punished for stealing a DVD player
  • He was isolated from his nine brothers and sisters with no books or other entertainment and a plastic container for a toilet
  • The windows were blacked out and police believe he was not being educated by his parents, who home school the children
  • The Wimbushes are devotees of a religion dedicated to 'Yah'
  • The 10 children have been removed from the home

By Ryan Parry

Published: 00:53 EST, 27 June 2014 | Updated: 08:46 EST, 27 June 2014


A super-religious former football star kept his eldest son prisoner in the basement for two years because he had ‘sinned’ by stealing a DVD player, the MailOnline can reveal.

Strict Recardo Wimbush Sr, 33, and wife Therian Cornelia Wimbush, 37, locked up 13-year-old Recardo Jr as punishment for his ‘wicked’ act to keep him on the ‘straight and narrow’.

The child was kept in a tiny, sparsely furnished room with all the windows blacked out.

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Recardo Wimbush, Sr, a devotee of a religion dedicated to Yah, allegedly locked his son, 13, in the basement of the family home for two years

Recardo Wimbush, Sr, a devotee of a religion dedicated to Yah, allegedly locked his son, 13, in the basement of the family home for two years

Wimbush and his wife Therian Wimbush (pictured) have been charged with child abuse and their 10 children taken into care

Wimbush and his wife Therian Wimbush (pictured) have been charged with child abuse and their 10 children taken into care

The parents were so angry with the boy's actions that he was banned from having any contact with his nine younger siblings and wasn’t allowed to read books or play with toys.

Gwinnett County police have now charged former Georgia Tech football star Wimbush and his wife with cruelty to children.

The couple – both devoted to an unusual religion which worships Yah - told investigators they had locked Recardo Jr in the basement for 'disciplinary reasons,' said Corporal Jake Smith, spokesman for Gwinnett Police.

'The victim had been confined to the room for most of the past two years and a lock had been added to the victim’s room in January 2013,' Smith said.

Recardo Wimbush and Therian Wimbush in 2005 mug shots. The parents had previously been arrested in 2005 on simple battery charges, according to Gwinnett County Detention Center records.
Recardo Wimbush and Therian Wimbush in 2005 mug shots. The parents had previously been arrested in 2005 on simple battery charges, according to Gwinnett County Detention Center records.

Recardo Wimbush (left) and Therian Wimbush in 2005 mug shots. The parents had previously been arrested in 2005 on simple battery charges, according to Gwinnett County Detention Center records

Recardo Wimbush wearing the number 42 shirt for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Recardo Wimbush wearing the number 42 shirt for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

'The victim had no access to books, toys, entertainment devices, or his siblings.'

Social workers discovered the boy was being confined to a small room that contained a bare box springs and mattress and 'a large plastic jar, which was apparently used as a toilet,' Smith said.

The Buford couple was charged with malicious and intentional cruelty to children and false imprisonment and must turn themselves in to authorities by the end of the day Friday.

The Wimbushes told a judge at a June 19 family court hearing that the 13-year-old was a threat to their other children.

But according to sources the child claims he was being punished for stealing a DVD player that wasn’t his.

The arrest warrant said the child was 'sent to the basement of the family house for the past two years in deplorable conditions due to being disobedient.'

The family live in a large home in Buford, north of Atlanta, Georgia.


Strict: The Wimbush children (Recardo Jr pictured center back) are home-schooled and their parents are known to be disciplinarians

Strict: The Wimbush children (Recardo Jr pictured center back) are home-schooled and their parents are known to be disciplinarians

Harsh punishment: Recardo Wimbush with son Recardo Wimbush, Jr as a baby, who was allegedly kept in a basement with no light and nothing to occupy his mind for two years

Harsh punishment: Recardo Wimbush with son Recardo Wimbush, Jr as a baby, who was allegedly kept in a basement with no light and nothing to occupy his mind for two years


There is a slide and child’s swings in the back yard but neighbors said the children were held to a strict regime.

Neighbor Pam Harris, 46, says the family moved in around 11 years ago.

She said they are strict disciplinarians who rarely allowed the children to talk to ‘strangers’.

‘They were a very odd family, they had ten children who were all home schooled and nicely dressed but weren’t allowed to be sociable.

‘You would never see the children playing outside on their own or in twos or threes, they would only ever go outside all together as a family with the parents watching.

‘They seemed very strict disciplinarians. They didn’t believe in Christmas and didn’t celebrate Halloween.

‘If children in the neighborhood knocked on their door for trick or treat the parents would hand out bibles instead of candy.’

Mrs Harris said the children were home-schooled.

She also said the family often displayed religious messages and posters on their front door.

She said: ‘Once they had a notice on their door that blew in to my yard. It said those who work on Sunday should be put to death.

‘It’s so sad that that little boy was kept in the basement, we heard he had sinned and stolen a DVD player, but they told police it was something worse. That poor boy.’

Mrs Harris said police came to the property last Thursday after a tip off and removed the ten children.

An undated family website shows a large, seemingly happy family and explained the importance of religion and its devotion to ‘Yah’.

On the website Recardo and his wife preach their family purpose as being ‘Wisely Instructed Meek Believers Uncompromising & Steadfast in Humility (WIMBUSH).

They say the Wimbush vision is to: ‘Be a family of Yah that, much like Mosheh, is found TRUSTWORTHY in all YAH’s House!!!’

Family website: The site contains family pictures and statements about their religious beliefs

Family website: The site contains family pictures and statements about their religious beliefs

Sporting career: Wimbush attended Georgia Tech where he was a star football player

Sporting career: Wimbush attended Georgia Tech where he was a star football player

Full of secrets: The family moved into this home 11 years ago and neighbors say the children were never allowed to play outside unless under the watchful eyes of their parents

Full of secrets: The family moved into this home 11 years ago and neighbors say the children were never allowed to play outside unless under the watchful eyes of their parents

In amongst dozens of family photos the family vision is stated as: ‘Love and Fear YAH or Elohim, Guard His Charge: even His laws, and His right rulings, and His commands, ALWAYS!!! Serve Him, and cling to HIM and swear by HIS Name.’

Photos include a family group shot with the whole family dressed in white , individual snaps of the children including one of their pet dog Budd and photos of muscle bound ‘daddy’ Wimbush and ‘mommy’ Therian.

JAH is the shortened form of the divine name YHWH (also spelled Jehovah or Yahweh), an anglicized version of the Tetragrammaton.

Recardo Jr was one of three children the couple had while at Georgia Tech where Wimbush was a linebacker captain of the football team during his 2002 senior season.

Therian was a tutor when they met before she was graduated with duel degrees from Tech and Spelman College in 2000.

Recardo was described as a diaper-changing dad who got furloughs from team duties to be with his family.

'I knew I always wanted kids,' he then told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 'They bring a bright spot to your heart, and they have with me.'

According to the Atlanta Journal the charges shocked Wimbush’s former teammate Jeremy Muyres - who was a co-captain with Wimbush on the 2002 team.

'The one thing I do know is Recardo’s one of the best guys I’ve ever been around,' said Muyres, a teacher and football coach at Norcross High School.

Overzealous: The family often posted religious messages and posters on their front door, one of which stated that people who work on Sundays should be put to death

Overzealous: The family often posted religious messages and posters on their front door, one of which stated that people who work on Sundays should be put to death

Rescued: Recardo Wimbush, Sr, with son Recardo Wimbush, Jr (bottom front) and two of his other children

Rescued: Recardo Wimbush, Sr, with son Recardo Wimbush, Jr (bottom front) and two of his other children

Broken family: Therian Wimbush, with one of the couple's many children, has been charged with child abuse after a tip-off to police

Broken family: Therian Wimbush, with one of the couple's many children, has been charged with child abuse after a tip-off to police

'Obviously, hearing about it, it’s shocking, but I don’t know all the details. None of us do yet.'

The warrants arose out of an investigation by the Department of Family and Children Services following an anonymous tip.

The boy was in good health, as were his nine siblings, and there were no other signs of abuse.

After a hearing, a judge removed all the children from the house and contacted Gwinnett Police who searched the house the next day,  Cpl. Smith, said.

Detectives found that the boy was fed at normal meal times and that the room was kept clean; the parents had added a sheet to the make-shift bed since the visit by the social workers, Smith said.

But detectives don’t believe the boy was being schooled - none of the children attended public school - and was only occasionally let out to use the bathroom, Smith said.

The room was dark, with no light bulb in its fixture and the 'single window was painted white which let in a small amount of light during daylight hours,' Smith said.

Wimbush, who grew up in Blakely, was a Georgia Tech linebacker from 1999 to 2002 and was the team captain his senior year, the same year he was a second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection.

According to the Atlanta Journal he was a standout athlete not only for team records, but also because he pursued his degree at the university after his athletic eligibility ended. He earned it in 2010.

Wimbush signed with the Falcons in April 2003 as an undrafted free agent but was released after training camp.

'I just remember he was always a good guy, always did the right thing,' Muyres said. 'He was a guy who would always have your back, a guy who would always be there for you, a guy you could count on. He was just that type of person.'

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Errrr how did they manage to have TEN children before the authorities intervened

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I don't know how it is where you live but in the States they don't regulate people's reproduction. They ought to, perhaps, but they do not.

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Lock up both parents for twice as long as he was. Justice.

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Thoroughly appalling! I hope he is jail for a long time and those children are kept away from him for good. That poor boy will probably never recover from that trauma.

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Yah right !

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Just plain crazy. Put his ass in jail.

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Further evidence that religion is the worst thing that mankind ever invented.

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Further evidence that religion is the worst thing that mankind ever invented.

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they are all being punished by having to stay in the house and not have friends from school. and what the hell does this A-hole do for a living?? guess he saves money by not enrolling them in schools. and they probably food is regulated.

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Religion is a cancer to humanity.

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The people commenting on her looks must be careful. She has a degree in dueling. I read it in the DM. It MUST be true.

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