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Family charged after teenager abused and kept in basement
Source: Agencies |
February 22, 2012, Wednesday
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WHEN the malnourished 15-year-old awoke each morning, she could hear her family eating and getting ready for the day ahead in Madison, Wisconsin, the United States.
If she felt especially brave, she would call to her stepmother and beg for food, but usually just went back to bed and hoped her hunger pangs went away.
The girl was 32 kilograms when rescued. She told investigators during interviews at the hospital that most of the food she ate was scraps she found on the floor or in the garbage. She had spent most of five years in the basement of her family's Madison home, where she was beaten and sexually assaulted.
The girl's statements, contained in court documents, detail physical, mental and sexual abuse. Dane County officials say the girl is getting help now.
Her father and stepmother have been charged with child abuse, child neglect and reckless endangerment. The charges carry a maximum combined sentence of 11 years, 3 months. The girl's 18-year-old stepbrother is charged with child abuse and child sexual assault and faces 68 years behind bars if convicted.
The three have preliminary hearings set for tomorrow, and prosecutors say more charges are likely.
The girl said the abuse started when she turned 10. Her stepmother beat her, and her stepbrother repeatedly forced her to perform oral sex on him. That's also when the family began keeping her in the basement.
Because it had no bathroom, she said she often bathed in a basement sink that had no hot water and relieved herself in boxes. If she made a mess while doing so, "they will make me eat it. Or drink it or rub it on my face," she said.
She said she was forced to do chores naked and had to call upstairs for permission to eat. She was often told her stepmother was too busy to feed her. "I know it's a lie," the teenager told police. "She's playing with my brother upstairs. I can hear her upstairs watching TV."
The girl implied she could unlock the basement door but said it was alarmed. Still, she said she fled a couple times, but her parents always found her.
Neighbors had expressed concerns to the authorities but the parents blocked county workers from speaking with the girl.
On February 6, when her stepmother threatened to throw her down the stairs, the girl fled and was found by a motorist.
If she felt especially brave, she would call to her stepmother and beg for food, but usually just went back to bed and hoped her hunger pangs went away.
The girl was 32 kilograms when rescued. She told investigators during interviews at the hospital that most of the food she ate was scraps she found on the floor or in the garbage. She had spent most of five years in the basement of her family's Madison home, where she was beaten and sexually assaulted.
The girl's statements, contained in court documents, detail physical, mental and sexual abuse. Dane County officials say the girl is getting help now.
Her father and stepmother have been charged with child abuse, child neglect and reckless endangerment. The charges carry a maximum combined sentence of 11 years, 3 months. The girl's 18-year-old stepbrother is charged with child abuse and child sexual assault and faces 68 years behind bars if convicted.
The three have preliminary hearings set for tomorrow, and prosecutors say more charges are likely.
The girl said the abuse started when she turned 10. Her stepmother beat her, and her stepbrother repeatedly forced her to perform oral sex on him. That's also when the family began keeping her in the basement.
Because it had no bathroom, she said she often bathed in a basement sink that had no hot water and relieved herself in boxes. If she made a mess while doing so, "they will make me eat it. Or drink it or rub it on my face," she said.
She said she was forced to do chores naked and had to call upstairs for permission to eat. She was often told her stepmother was too busy to feed her. "I know it's a lie," the teenager told police. "She's playing with my brother upstairs. I can hear her upstairs watching TV."
The girl implied she could unlock the basement door but said it was alarmed. Still, she said she fled a couple times, but her parents always found her.
Neighbors had expressed concerns to the authorities but the parents blocked county workers from speaking with the girl.
On February 6, when her stepmother threatened to throw her down the stairs, the girl fled and was found by a motorist.
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