In a recent turn of events, Florida prosecutors have decided to drop charges against a family of four accused of mistreating their nine adopted and foster children. Authorities concluded that the family was simply doing its best in challenging conditions.

Brian Griffeth, 47, his wife Jill Griffeth, 41, and their two biological children, Dallin Griffeth, 21, and Liberty Griffeth, 19, were released from custody. Prosecutors recognized that the family’s actions were consistent with their circumstances, describing them as “a poor family, devout in their faith, and raising nine minor children in a small home,” as reported by Law&Crime.

The family’s legal troubles began in July when one of the foster children brought a Taser to a camp organized by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, sparking an investigation, according to CrimeOnline.

Upon contacting the church, police learned that the Griffeth family had recently moved to Florida from Arizona. During this time, a concerned church member expressed additional worries about the children’s welfare.

Detectives reviewed interviews conducted by state child welfare officials with the children, whose ages ranged from 7 to 16. During these interviews, a 14-year-old child revealed a lack of basic knowledge, such as his birth date, and showed signs of severe literacy deficiencies. He also claimed that the Griffeths often confined him under his bunk bed, denying him access to the bathroom.

The mother reportedly disciplined him by pressing a plywood sheet across his chest and back, leaving scars from splinters. He would also be sprayed in the face with vinegar as a form of punishment.

Another 14-year-old child in the home stated that she had not attended school in years and had no idea of her grade level. Some of the children reported sexual abuse.

But all of that came for naught last month when prosecutors decided not to prosecute the case. A notice of nolle prosequi — a Latin term meaning “unwilling to prosecute” — said that depositions uncovered “a series of blame shifting, finger pointing, and outright denials of matters contained within the initial reports and response.”

“All initial salacious gossip concerning children being treated as slaves or incidents of sexual abuse were determined to be unfounded in this investigation,” the notice said.

The child who reported being caged in his bunk was confined because the child engaged in “violence against other children, adults, and animals.” The vinegar sprayed into his mouth was a “diluted solution” that was a modern day version of soap in the mouth as a punishment.

Prosecutors said such a punishment “does not constitute child abuse.” Overall, the prosecutors said, they could not present the case to a jury, who “would be asked to consider: a poor family, devout in their faith, and raising 9 minor children in a small home, addressing the situation in a manner they deem appropriate to ensure the safety and security of the alleged victim and to also ensure no acts of violence were perpetrated upon the other children.”

The nine adopted and foster children were removed from the home this summer. It’s not clear if they have been sent back to the “small home.”