On Wednesday, an Oklahoma judge sentenced a couple who tied a 15-year-old girl to a tree for three days because they believed she “could not be trusted.”
Johnny James, 41, was sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to child abuse and neglect. His girlfriend, Kayla Clark, 42, will serve a 30-year sentence after pleading guilty to child neglect and enabling abuse, according to Tulsa Fox affiliate KOKI.
According to Lori Fullbright of local CBS affiliate KOTV, the victim has been placed with a foster family and was given the opportunity to make a victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded to a child abuse complaint on July 28 at a home in Vera, a small town in northeast Oklahoma about 25 miles north of Tulsa, according to the probable cause arrest.
A woman told deputies that a 15-year-old girl was tied up in the backyard and needed medical attention because she had “a hole in her leg and lesions on her arms,” according to the affidavit.
The 911 caller stated that the girl had been there for three days and that she was sneaking her food. The 15-year-old girl and her family were visiting from Texas, according to police.
Deputies arrived at the house and discovered the 15-year-old girl sitting on a rectangular piece of carpet, leaning over at the waist with a bandage below her knee and a “ratchet-style tie down strap around her,” according to the affidavit.
Cops spoke with a witness, who the 15-year-old identified as her grandmother. Deputies say the woman initially “did not want to be truthful” and claimed she was unaware of the girl’s condition. However, she allegedly admitted to knowing what was going on but was “too afraid” to tell James.
James arrived home and immediately told deputies that he had tied her up because “she cannot be trusted and likes to lie,” according to the affidavit. He reportedly claimed she was only tied down for an hour while he was gone. James told deputies she had been tied down on two separate occasions.
“Johnny explained the times she is left outside was to go to the store or church this morning due to her peeing and pooping on herself and not wanting it inside so they sat her outside that way there is no mess,” according to the document. “When Johnny was asked, he stated this was the only option to keep her restrained because he did not know what else to do to help her.”
James believes the disciplinary issues stem from the girl’s desire to live with her mother. He also told deputies that he “sees now he will need to figure out another solution” to tying her down.
When police inquired about the 15-year-old being tied with the ratchet strap, Clark stated that “she was taking a shower and did not know anything took place,” and that she did not notice her sitting outside when they left for church that morning because she was too “frazzled,” according to the affidavit.
First responders transported the girl to the hospital. According to the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, the Department of Human Services took custody of the girl and the other children in the home.
