Left to right: Jason Klimp, Jessica Klimp (Fentress County (Tenn.) Jail).
A mother and father in Michigan who were already sentenced to a decade in prison for starving and abusing their adopted daughters in Tennessee are now facing additional time behind bars after pleading to additional acts of cruelty in their home state.
Jessica Klimp, 45, appeared in Wexford County Circuit Court where she pleaded no contest to two counts of first-degree child abuse, authorities announced. Her husband, Jason Klimp, 45, pleaded guilty to the same charges in March.
The couple, both of whom have since had their parental rights terminated, starved their daughters and kept them locked up in dog cages and a "man-made straitjacket," among other things.
According to a news release from the Michigan Attorney General's Office, the mother and father were extradited from Tennessee last year to face these additional charges after state investigators uncovered evidence of systemic torture involving two of their four adopted children.
The Michigan investigation began in earnest after the couple was arrested during a stay in Tennessee in February 2024. Following that arrest, the Michigan State Police executed a search warrant at the Klimps' Wexford County home.
According to the Attorney General's Office, authorities discovered a "man-made straitjacket" in a bedroom, along with security alarms installed on the bedroom door. Perhaps most disturbingly, investigators said they also found "dog cages that appeared to have been used to confine the children" inside the home.
"Kids deserve to grow up in a loving home free from abuse," Michigan Attorney General Nessel said in a statement following the plea. "The cruelty that these children endured is heartbreaking, and while no outcome can erase the trauma, I hope these convictions will provide a sense of justice and healing."
As previously reported by Law&Crime, the investigation into the adoptive parents began when authorities in Fentress County, Tennessee, responded to the family's home after one of their adopted daughters collapsed. Jason Klimp reportedly placed the child in a cold shower in an attempt to wake her up before paramedics arrived.
The 12-year-old girl had suffered so much neglect and abuse that first responders initially believed she was between 6 and 8 years old. A paramedic testified at a previous hearing that the girl's body temperature was a dangerously low 95.6 degrees and her skin was discolored.
The 12-year-old and her sister were severely underweight due to a diet of only "liquefied food" from a bottle. The 12-year-old later told police they were forced to eat that way because they "ate too much and would get sick."
Investigators also learned that the couple would severely punish the kids for things like wetting the bed, forcing them to sleep on plastic totes in a 60-degree basement without blankets. A total of eight children were living in the home at the time — four biological and four adopted.
In October 2025, a Tennessee judge sentenced the couple to 10 years behind bars for aggravated child abuse. They were subsequently returned to Michigan to face the Wexford County charges.
Jason Klimp is scheduled to be sentenced in the 28th Circuit Court on June 16, while a sentencing date for Jessica Klimp has not yet been set. Their Michigan prison terms will be served concurrently with their 10-year Tennessee sentences.
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