Parents charged with holding teen daughter captive for six years, chaining her to toilet
Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of child abuse.
Parents from New Jersey, US, are being accused of severely abusing and holding captive their teenage daughter for six years, allegedly leaving her in a padlocked bathroom while being chained to a toilet.
The suspects, Brenda Spencer, 38, and Branndon Mosley, 41, have been charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, and endangering the welfare of a child for abusing the teen, now aged 18, who escaped in May, per the PEOPLE Magazine report.
The abuse allegedly began in 2018 when the teen had been forced to drop out of school and was held inside their home, specifically forcing her to live in a dog crate for about a year and was let out periodically.
"She was removed from school in the sixth grade at Spencer’s discretion and confined to her home,” the Camden County Prosecutor's Office said in a previous statement.
"The victim advised she was later forced to live in a padlocked bathroom while being chained up," the authorities added. "She stated that she would be let out of the bathroom when family visited the residence."
There's also the time when the teen was left in a bare room "with just a bucket to use instead of a toilet. The couple allegedly had an alarm system alerting them if the victim tried to leave.
Per the release, the victim also alleged that she had been physically abused with a belt and was sexually abused by her stepfather, Mosley.
When authorities investigated the home, they discovered she had been living "alongside numerous dogs, chinchillas and other animals." She was also homeschooled alongside a 13-year-old girl who had also been withdrawn from school "at Spencer's discretion" and lived there.
The couple was arrested after the victim finally escaped the residence on May 8 with the help of a neighbor.
Per local outlet NJ.com, the couple's legal counsel entered not guilty pleas on their behalf.
If convicted, the prosecutors said Spencer faces up to 30 years in prison, while Mosley will be sentenced to life in prison.
