Police have arrested a Wyoming couple for reportedly locking their 7-year-old in an outdoor cage for three weeks as a punishment for misbehaving.
Police arrested Jena Harman and her boyfriend, Alexander Smith, and have charged them with child abuse and felonious restraint. They both face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Police say the couple caged the child in a six-by-five-foot cage put together from cattle paneling and wooden snow fence.
The two reportedly used a metal chain and “dog-leash-style latch” to keep the child in the cage.
The child had a five-gallon bucket to use as a bathroom, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and some books.
Police say the child was fed once a day, if at all.
Harman would occasionally free the child when Smith, a truck driver, was not at home.
Smith lives in a camper near the house.
Police say the child reported being kicked, sprayed with a water hose, and kept in the cage during heavy storms.
Police arrested Harman and Smith on July 24 after receiving an anonymous complaint.
Both are charged with one count of child abuse and three counts of felonious restraint. If they are convicted on all four counts, they could face up to 20 years in prison.
Harman reportedly told police that they put the child in the cage for “constantly doing bad things.”
Smith told police that he simply disliked the child and claimed that the child “appeared to like” the cage.
Both are being held at the Albany County Detention Center on $100,000 bond.
The post Couple ‘Locked 7-Year-Old in Outdoor Cage For 3 Weeks’ For ‘Misbehaving’ appeared first on Latest.