Denver prosecutors have charged a woman with child abuse for allegedly tying her 10-year-old daughter’s hands behind her back so she wouldn’t leave her bed.
Danelle Daunchet, 52, tied the girl’s hands together with plastic zip ties like those police use to cuff suspects, according to the Denver district attorney’s office.
A doctor who examined the girl said there is a substantial risk the child will suffer serious, permanent disfigurement as a result of being bound, according to a court record. The girl said she had to sleep on her side to avoid pain, according to court documents.
The girl mentioned the abuse to someone who reported it to police. The girl said when she returned from school each day she would feed her dog, complete her homework and, if not in trouble, watch TV before going to bed about 9:30 p.m., according to the record.
The girl told police her mother had tied her hands at bedtime for the past year so she wouldn’t get up and “steal food,” according to the record. She also said “when her mother removes the zips she removes them with a knife, which sometimes cuts and pokes her.”
The girl displayed marks left by the bindings and knife cuts on each arm.
Daunchet faces charges of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury and two counts of child abuse. Daunchet was released on a $50,000 bond and is scheduled to appear Friday in Denver County Court to be advised of the charges. Tom McGhee, The Denver Post
