A woman allegedly locked her seven-year-old relative in a dog cage underneath a Christmas tree.
Rose Marie Anderson is accused of caging the young girl ‘for hours on end’ beneath the Christmas tree in her apartment in Harris County, Texas, according to court documents.
Anderson also allegedly zip-tied the girl, duct taped her mouth, forced her to urinate on herself and kicked her while she was trapped in the cage, police said.
Her motive was to ‘discipline’ the girl ‘for her behavior at school’, state the court documents obtained by KTRK.
Records showed that Anderson and the girl are relatives, and that the suspect is a single mother working three jobs.
The crime happened on or around December 13 on Dixie Drive near the South Side of Houston, and Anderson was arrested thanks to an electronic tip.
Anderson appeared at Harris County Magistrate on Sunday and was charged with injury to a child and unlawful restraint.
‘CPS (Child Protective Services) is investigating these abuse allegations alongside law enforcement,’ Texas Department of Family Services Spokesperson Melissa Lanford told KTRK.
‘The child is now safe in foster care, where she is receiving the care she needs.’
A neighbor, Allante Ricks, said the news of the case was unbelievable.
‘Putting your child in a cage? I would never. I can’t imagine,’ Ricks, who has a five-year-old daughter, told KHOU.
‘My heart goes out to the little girl, you know. That’s trauma for her. There is no amount of discipline to put your child in a cage like an animal. She’s a human being.’
‘I pray for the child, number one, that she can just move past this traumatic experience.’
Anderson’s bond was set at $10,000 and she posted it on Monday.
It comes after a mother earlier this year allegedly locked her two-year-old son in a homemade cage covered in human feces in their home in Buffalo, New York.
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