Ok, did anything any of us suggest happen? Is wife going to get help for herself and these kids? Are you sure this child wasn't abused at dad's house? If she's talking to herself, she could have severe psychiatric problems. I don't believe she is being "bad" I believe she is quite disturbed (and not getting help won't make it better) and probably mentally ill (and not getting medical treatment is equally as bad). This may sound tough, but in my opinion venting won't help. This child needs HELP--serious help on all levels. She was sexually abused and is talking to herself, which could mean hallucinations. She obviously has a genetic predisposition to mental illness. Her father obviously has some mental health disorder and the mother doesn't sound too stable either. Blaming her, and not helping her won't change anything. Nothing. Things will stay exactly as they are, or get 10X worse. Abused kids need serious intervention--they tend to believe THEY deserved it and are "bad." I work at a home for domestic abuse. The stories I hear from the kids are so sad sometimes it makes me cry, often it makes me angry that the parent didn't get help sooner. BUT...once they are at our shelter they are getting help then. It's fine to vent, but your SO has to DO or else expect this to happen. I'm not surprised it did. She should never be around this pedophile. If wife doesn't want to fight in court, she isn't protecting her child. If she won't take her to see a Psychiatrist, she is neglecting her needs. I'm not at all angry at YOU. YOU took this on and are trying to help. SO needs a push to get help for herself and her kids (a serious push). Another suggestion--I woudln't let any of these kids anywhere near guns. They have a lot of anger inside of them and two have expressed the desire to shoot people. They may never do it, but with the way kids are shooting others up at schools, I sure wouldn't think that THESE kids are good candidates to be handling guns, at least not until their mental health issues are resolved. Even the easy child's have problems if they were abused. I just don't want to see a tragedy happen here. PLEASE get everyone help. This family that you have chosen to try to help and to love CAN'T function normally if things are just swept under the rug, and the children are treated as if they are just normal, typical kids who need to behave. They've seen and been through too much and they all need help, especially difficult child. SO needs serious help too or she's never going to be able to function as a strong good mother to these children. Maybe you an lean on her hard to get the help that everyone needs, especially difficult child. Hope I didn't sound too mean...lol. That wasn't my intention. But, really, things have to change or they'll only get worse as this child gets older...Hurting animals is a big red flag that things are escalating on the mental health front. It's one of the three signs of a budding psychopath. With all she's been through, and since she isn't getting mental health, she could end up in serious trouble. She needs a Psychiatrist (with the MD). And I'm really not liking SO. I know she probably has "beaten woman syndrome" but she can't be so blind that she doesn't know how badly her chlidren need help. She put them in that situation and maybe feels guilty, but it can even get worse. She can help them NOW, even if she didn't do it before...