(GoRealNewsNow.com) – In an upsetting turn of events, Oklahoma police arrested and charged a father and his girlfriend after he tied his teenage daughter to a tree by a chicken coop for three days.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) took 40-year-old Johnny James and 42-year-old girlfriend Kayla Clark into custody. This arrest followed an incident involving the mistreatment of a 15-year-old girl.
The authorities were notified after a child abuse complaint was filed, as a woman told WCSO deputies that the girl was tied to a tree in a backyard and needed medical help. She reportedly had “a hole in her leg and lesions on her arms.”
Furthermore, the woman also said the girl had been left tied up for three days, and she had been sneaking her food. Deputies saw that the 15-year-old had a “ratchet-style tie-down strap around her.”
According to the report, when James came home, he told deputies he was punishing his daughter because “she cannot be trusted and likes to lie.” He claimed she had been tied up for no more than an hour and that he had tied her on two separate occasions.
James explained that his daughter would urinate and defecate indoors, and he believed this punishment would prevent that. He reportedly told authorities he did not know “what else to do to help” his daughter, so he kept her “restrained.”
In turn, the father allegedly said the girl’s behavior was due to her wanting to live with her mother. He told police he “sees now he will need to figure out another solution” other than tying her to a tree, according to the affidavit.
While Clark was also questioned by deputies, she reportedly said she “was taking a shower and did not know anything took place.” The woman also claimed she did not see the girl when they went to church services because she was “frazzled.”
The teenager was taken to the hospital for her injuries. The Oklahoma Department of Human Services Child Welfare has taken her and other children from the home into their custody.
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