INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KCTV) - Newly released court documents allege a family of sexually abusing and torturing children.

It has their neighbors disgusted and heartbroken, wishing they could’ve done something.

On Monday, Aug. 18, Dianne, 47, Ryan, 47, and Maverick, 22, Nichols were charged with child abuse.

“It just makes us all sad, it just makes us all sad,” said Kelly Rhodes, who has lived by the Nichols for years. “They’ve always been very nice when we saw them up and down the street. They would always wave and smile, always very polite.”

According to the probable cause, in 2023, Independence Police came to their home for a welfare check for several children.

This came after they learned a child told counselors at her church camp that she had been sexually abused for years.

The docum

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