John later said, “My dad was domineering. Despite all of this, John always maintained that he loved his father. However, John’s father apparently felt that his son was only doing this to gain sympathy and miss school.

When he was around 11 years old, he was admitted to a hospital after blacking out a few times. Later, John was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition that prevented him from participating in sports.

At the time, John feared his father would blame him and didn’t want to get punished. A couple of years later, John was repeatedly molested by a family friend, but he didn’t talk to his parents about it. One such incident occurred when he was five years old when a 15-year-old girl began touching him. He later claimed to have experienced sexual assault as a child many times. Sometimes, he even beat his wife, Marion.ĭuring John’s childhood, he was pretty close to his mother and sisters. An auto repair mechanic, John Stanley was an alcoholic who regularly demeaned John and called him a “sissy.” All of this usually happened in the family basement. Growing up, John was verbally and physically abused by his father from a young age. He was their second child and their only son, and his father named him after Hollywood actor John Wayne.

On March 17, 1942, John was born to John Stanley and Marion Elaine Gacy.

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