Abuse case against couple dropped for now

Charges were dismissed Friday against an East Side couple accused of abusing five children in their home for a prolonged period.

Columbus police said the dismissal of the charges against Jose Rosales, 33, and Rosa Rosales, 29, in Franklin County Municipal Court is based on a possible future indictment.

“The Franklin County prosecutor’s office has requested additional case information, which we are working to provide,” the Jose Rosales Rosa Rosales

Police Division said in a statement emailed to the Dispatch.

Prosecutor Ron O’brien said the charges were dismissed because the case needs additional investigation, including the results of forensic testing.

The couple had been charged Aug. 6 with five counts of endangering children and accused of abuse over several years.

According to court records, six children between the ages of 2 and 9 lived in the couple’s home in the 4900 block of Coventry Court South. The charges related to the five eldest children.

Jose Rosales also was charged with three counts of rape.

The allegations against him also included keeping the children locked in their rooms without food, water and bathroom access, hitting them with hangers, belts, cords and shoes, biting them and burning their fingertips.

Rosa Rosales was accused of knowing about the abuse but doing nothing to intervene or protect the children.

O’brien said prosecutors are in touch with detectives and will continue the investigation with hopes of refiling the charges later.

The six children were removed from the home in March. A Franklin County Children Services case is separate from the criminal investigation, O’brien said, and the children will remain in the custody of the agency.