A Georgia couple has been charged with child abuse after they allegedly locked their daughter in a storage building, chicken coop and outhouse.
Samuel and Diana Franklin of Butler in middle Georgia were charged with 12 counts of first-degree child cruelty and four counts of false imprisonment, the GBI reported.
The arrests stemmed from an investigation by the Taylor County Department of Family and Children Services, which received a complaint that a child was being abused at the Franklin residence, the GBI said. After visiting the Franklins' home on May 25, DFCS personnel sought and received a temporary custody order and removed the child from the home the same day.
The Franklins were arrested Tuesday after a GBI investigation discovered evidence "that the abuse included locking the child in a storage building, chicken coop and outhouse for days at a time."
"The child basically said that there were just a series of fairly severe, what can be described as punishments, for various things that the child allegedly did — some as simple as not doing homework and then others like taking food," the GBI's Wayne Smith told News/Talk WSB.
Smith says there was other abuse as well.
"In addition to being required to stay out in this environment, there were also food restrictions that were also instituted, such as nothing but bread and water for days at a time and sometimes no water at all for a day or two," Smith told WSB.
