This is a heartbreaking case of extreme child abuse and neglect. A man and his girlfriend will both serve long prison sentences after subjecting his teenage daughter to cruel and inhumane treatment.
According to court records, Johnny James was sentenced to 35 years behind bars after pleading guilty to child neglect and abuse. His girlfriend, Kayla Clark, also pleaded guilty to similar charges and received a 30-year sentence.
Authorities in Washington County, Oklahoma, were alerted to the abuse on July 28, 2024, when deputies responded to a home in Vera. They discovered a 15-year-old girl, James’ daughter, tied to a tree with ratchet straps, sleeping on a piece of carpet. Reports indicate she had been left outside multiple times over a 72-hour period.
James later told investigators that he restrained his daughter because she had issues with urination and defecation inside the house. He also admitted to using this method as punishment because the teen wanted to live with her mother.
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A passerby saw the victim bound to the tree and stopped to assist. She noticed the girl had visible injuries, including a hole in her leg and lesions on her arm, suggesting she had been left there for days.
James initially claimed he only restrained her for an hour but later confessed that he had done it multiple times. His girlfriend, Clark, claimed she was unaware of the abuse, saying she was in the shower when James tied up his daughter and failed to notice her absence when they went to church.
Family members of James reportedly suspected abuse but refrained from reporting it due to fear of retaliation.
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