Police: Teen Kept In Bathroom For 2 Months
Phoenix Couple Accused Of Locking Up Daughter As Punishment
Scott Bass, Andrea Bass
POSTED: 12:47 pm PST February 10, 2010
UPDATED: 1:19 pm PST February 10, 2010
PHOENIX -- A Phoenix couple has been arrested on accusations oflocking their 14-year-old daughter in a bathroom of their home for two months, Phoenix TV station KPHO reported.
Scott Bass, 33, and Andrea Bass, 31, face charges of child abuse, unlawful imprisonment and failure to report neglect, according to court documents.
"No one on this earth needs to be treated the way this child was treated," Phoenix police Officer Luis Samudio told The Associated Press.
Andrea Bass, who was released from custody Tuesday after posting a $36,000 bond, did not immediately return a message left at her home Wednesday morning. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to a request Wednesday to interview Scott Bass, who remained jailed on a $45,000 bond.
The malnourished girl escaped from the bathroom through the attic on Feb. 4 and rode her bike to a nearby movie theater, where a concerned couple gave her $50. She then rode about 13 miles to a Phoenix strip mall and bought water, food, a backpack and clothes because she hadn't been allowed to change for weeks, Samudio said.
The girl then rode to a coffee shop in Scottsdale, where she asked an employee to call police.
Samudio said when police arrived at the girl's home to interview Scott Bass, he thought the girl was still in the bathroom and was "visibly surprised" when he unlocked the door and she was gone.
Inside the bathroom, police found a 5-gallon bucket containing human waste and a blanket on the floor that served as the girl's bed, according to a probable-cause statement released Wednesday.
The teen told police she had been locked in the bathroom for about two months as punishment for being irresponsible and stealing food, court documents stated. She said she was fed only a few cans of food, crackers or bread every few days.
The girl also told officers that she was forced to exercise until she was exhausted. If she stopped, she was beaten with belts and metal rods and had her hair pulled, police said.
Scott Bass admitted to officers that the girl had been "grounded" in her room on and off since Christmas, police said.
The girl also told police that in a previous home, her father and stepmother forced her to sleep on an outdoor patio for five months, locked her in a closet for a week, and locked her in a bathroom for a week.
The girl, who was evaluated and released from a hospital, was in the custody of Child Protective Services. Four other children living in the home, who police said showed no signs of abuse or similar treatment, also were in CPS custody.
Samudio said the girl and her 12-year-old brother were from Scott Bass' previous marriage, and that three girls ages 3, 4 and 11 were Scott and Andrea Bass' children.
video:
http://www.fox5vegas.com/news/22524542/detail.htmlSadly I think abuse against children is becoming the norm.
Topic: Scott Bass, Andrea Bass Kept Daughter Locked in a Room for Months ... (Read 647 times)