Ricardo and Tehrian Wimbush have not seen their 10 children since their arrest last June on felony child abuse charges.
Recardo and Therian are accused of locking their eldest son in a basement for months.
On Tuesday, the couple continued to fight the state’s efforts to sever their parental rights at Gwinnett County Juvenile Court.
Recardo Wimbush is a former Georgia Tech athletic star and football captain. Therian, 37, pursued an advanced engineering degree and tutored athletes at Georgia Tech where she met Recardo, 33.
Therian home-schooled their growing family of 10 children — ages 2-14 — while her husband worked as a supervisor at a railroad company.
The Wimbushes say they are being persecuted for raising their children based on their religious beliefs.
They said they isolated their children at home to protect them from societal influences, including social media, cell phones and hip hop.
In March, DFACS hired a psychologist to evaluate the mental and emotional status of the 10 children who are in state custody.
Psychologist Priscilla Faulkner testified in court that reuniting the children with their parents would be high risk.
“I think reunification would be very high risk and problematic without any acknowledgment of wrong-doing,” she said.
“[The children] appear to be intelligent and sociable and generally well adjusted,” she added.
Faulkner said the children tested at appropriate academic levels.
But social workers said the children had poor personal hygiene and some of the girls’ hair extensions had gone unwashed.
Additionally, the children are showing the effects of separation anxiety.
The couple’s oldest son, a troubled boy, suffered a fractured collar bone during an incident at the DFACS group home. And one of the daughters was so distraught at being separated from her parents that she was admitted to a mental health residential clinic because of suicide concerns.
At a February hearing, Recardo’s lawyer said the “close-knit family” was together 24/7.
“They’ve been completely shut out from having any information about the children,” said attorney Natalie Green.
Lawyers representing the Wimbushes say they only want a chance to be reunited with their children.
“These are special children, phenomenal children,” said Theiran’s lawyer, Alex Manning. “Our clients would like to lay eyes on them.”
The Wimbushes are being held without bond in the Gwinnett County jail.
