A Couple in Ohio is booked for keeping a girl in a dog cage as a punishment
This week, an Ohio couple was arrested for torturing a 7-year-old girl for seven months last year, including being locked up in a dog cage.
A grand jury in Canton indicted 30-year-old Derek Mayle and 29-year-old Lillian Cottrell on suspicion of child assault. Court documents say the couple “tortured and cruelly abused” the child from January 1, 2019, to July 30, 2019.
At the time of discovery, the girl weighed only 28 pounds, prosecutors said.
The girl denied going home
Stark County Deputy Attorney Dan Petricini said the girl who has ties to Cottrell visited another relative for about two weeks in the summer of 2019 but refused when it was time to go home.
The relative, who has since received full custody of the girl, called Canton Police and Stark County Child Care Services and informed them about the abuse.
The and her siblings are now safe with their relatives
The girl and two older brothers were turned away from the house; The brothers are with another relative, Petrichini said. Investigators said the girl was apparently not tortured or mistreated.
A police spokesperson revealed that the girl was forced to sleep in a cage as punishment.
Citing the current state of the investigation, Petricini did not provide details of the allegations against Mail and Cottrell that were part of the secret indictment.
On Thursday, a judge set the bail for Cottrell and Mail at $ 1 million each, and they are expected to appear in court on Friday.