This is a truly horrifying story.
A four-year-old girl was taken into protective custody this week in Arkansas after authorities determined the toddler had been the victim of endless abuse.
Upon examination, it was determined the girl had been zip-tied to her bed as punishment (by her mother and her mother’s boyfriend) and that she believed her name to be “idiot.”
One can safely assume this was because the mother and her boyfriend so frequently referred to the girl by this derisive moniker.
As a result of this despicable scene and development, Jennifer Diane Denen and Clarence Eugene Reed were arrested last Friday on suspicion of domestic battery; permitting the abuse of a minor; and endangering the welfare of a minor.
We’ve shared their mugshots above.
According to court documents obtained by The Sentinel-Record, the girl suffered deep purple bruising on her bottom, lower back, and legs.
She was also found by human services workers at Cooper-Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center to have a black eye, a swollen right cheek, dried blood in the corner of her mouth, a bruise on her forehead and scarring across her back.
The marks on her wrists indicated she had been restrained in some manner and the victim also looked malnourished.
When Hot Springs police officers asked the girl her name, she responded, “idiot,” according to the police report.
Cops then questioned a juvenile at the girl’s home and the person told them that she was commonly referred to as this this insult.
This is heartbreaking to read.
Police say Denen admitted to not seeking medical care for the girl’s injuries; while Reed allegedly admitted to calling the girl “idiot,” but said it was meant as a joke.
Denen also confessed to police that she saw Reed strike the girl with a plastic baseball bat; another kid at the scene told authorities that both Denen and Reed had zip-tied the victim to a chair.
They are each being held in the Garland County Jail on a $500,000 bond and are due in court next week.
Cpl. Kirk Zaner told The Washington Post that six children resided at the home in question.
An 11-month-old is now with protective services and four other siblings are now with their biological father.