Independence, MO (The Weekly Vice) - Timothy Phillips, 30, and Lacey Chaney, 27, have been jailed after they allegedly forced a 9-year-old girl to live in a basement, refused to treat her medical conditions and forced her to urinate outside because they didn't want to "contract the infections that she had."
According to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, details of the case began to unfold Friday when the little girl was sent to the school nurse because she smelled strongly of urine.
The victim told the nurse that her private parts hurt, so the nurse examined the girl and found that her genital area was seriously inflamed and appeared to be infected.
The little girl told the nurse that she was not allowed to use the restroom inside her house because her family didn't want to contract the infections that she had. Instead, she was forced to live in the basement and go outside when she needed to urinate or defecate.
When sheriff's deputies arrived at the family's home, the victim's father and his live-in girlfriend acknowledged locking the girl in their unfinished basement with little food or water. They also told deputies that they "popped her in the mouth and whooped her on the butt" as punishment for a recent school infraction.
The basement door was equipped with a chain lock and a security alarm that would sound if the girl tried to open the basement door.
Investigators say the father, his girlfriend and his girlfriend's son all lived upstairs while the little girl was kept down in the basement. He explained to detectives that the girl could not control her bladder and that he could "not afford to keep cleaning up after her."
The father also stated that he knew that not bathing the girl contributed to her infections. He stated that he didn't pursue medical treatment for the child because "what difference would it make, she is just going to piss herself anyway." He then told detectives that he didn't bath the girl because she had been sexually assaulted in a shower in the past. He surmised that the girl didn't like taking showers because of that experience.
Chaney, the father's girlfriend, told police that she believed the little girl wet herself because she preferred to be alone. Chaney also stated that she forced the girl to urinate outside because she contracted a yeast infection in the past and believes that it came from a toilet that had been used by the victim.
When investigators asked why the girl went to school smelling of urine every day, the father stated that the family did not own a washing machine. Deputies, however, toured the upstairs living areas and found that every other member of the family had clothes that were clean and neatly folded in their drawers.
The unfinished basement where the girl resided, however, was found to be dirty, unsafe with exposed wires and had a leaking sewage pipe, according to an arrest affidavit.
Deputies also found a blanket that appeared to have been used as toilet paper. The girl's clothing, which all smelled of urine and mildew, was found in a pile outside the home.
Neighbors told investigators that Phillips was often verbally abusive towards the girl and that she was sometimes sent to the bus stop an hour early during the winter without a winter coat. Many of the couple's neighbors spoke with local report
Phillips and Chaney were booked into the Jackson County Jail and charged with abuse or neglect of a child, first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and felonious restraint. Their bond has been set at $100,000.
Chaney's son is currently staying with relatives. The victim was taken into protective custody and is being treated at a local hospital.
Danny Vice
The Weekly Vice
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