An Arkansas couple has been charged after allegedly zip-tying a 4-year-old girl to furniture as punishment and verbally abusing her to the point that she believed her name was “idiot,” police said.
The girl, of Hot Springs, was taken into state custody last week after workers with the Arkansas Department of Human Services examined the 4-year-old and determined she had been abused, The Sentinel-Record reported.
The malnourished girl had deep purple bruising on her bottom, lower back and legs, a black eye, a swollen right cheek, scars, dried blood in the corner of her mouth and ligature marks from being restrained, according to an arrest report.
She reportedly told officers that her name was “idiot.” Another juvenile at the same home reportedly confirmed the girl had been tied up and was referred to as “idiot.”
Her mother, 30-year-old Jennifer Diane Denen, and her mother’s live-in boyfriend, 47-year-old Clarence Eugene Reed, were arrested and charged with felony counts of domestic battery, permitting abuse of a minor and endangering the welfare of a minor, The Sentinel-Record reported.
Mr. Reed admitted that he and Ms. Denen had used zip ties to secure the child to her bed, and he called the child an “idiot” as a joke, police said.
They were each being held Monday on $500,000 bond and are set to appear Aug. 23 in Garland County District Court, The Sentinel-Record reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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