A Texas woman has been arrested for allegedly tying up a young girl and locking her in a dog cage under a Christmas tree for hours.
Rose Anderson, a 55-year-old single mother, was taken into custody and accused of restraining the seven-year-old with zip ties, taping her mouth, kicking and punching her while she was locked inside.
The alleged incident took place around December 13 at the suspect’s apartment near the Old Spanish Train off Dixie Drive in Houston.
According to court documents, Anderson allegedly left the girl without food, water or bathroom, causing her to urinate on herself.
Anderson was charged with unlawful restraint and injury to a child.
During her initial hearing, prosecutors alleged her motive was to “discipline” the seven-year-old “for her behavior at school.”
Anderson posted her $10,000 bond after the hearing and was released from the Harris County Jail.
Melissa Lanford, spokesperson for the Texas Department of Family Services, confirmed that an investigation into the situation is ongoing. She said the young girl is now in foster care.
Rose Anderson, 55, a single mother, was taken into custody for allegedly restraining the seven-year-old with zip ties, taping her mouth and kicking and punching her while she was locked inside
“CPS is investigating these allegations of abuse in conjunction with law enforcement. The child is now safe in a foster home, where she will receive the care she needs,” she said ABC13.
According to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, officials learned of the incident after an “electronic tip.”
Neighbor Lonnie Hatchet was shocked when she heard about the allegations and told police New York Post: ‘It was strange for me. What happened to the timeout? Take away one of the Christmas presents, but not the dog cage – come on!’
Anderson’s next court appearance is scheduled for January 6. It remains unclear how she and the girl are known to each other.
This comes months after a Pennsylvania couple was hit with multiple charges related to the torture of their six-year-old daughter. They were accused of locking her in a dog crate overnight.
Jacob William Weight Sr., 37, and Mimi Ann Frost, 33, were charged in Fayette County with aggravated assault, corruption of minors, strangulation, endangering the welfare of children and several other charges.
The investigation began Feb. 6 when troopers were dispatched to the couple’s home in Brownsville Borough after the child became unresponsive, Pennsylvania State Police said.
When they arrived, they found the house in a “deplorable state,” littered with dog feces, trash and urine.
Footage from inside the House of Horrors shows a large black dog crate in the living room with blankets and debris strewn across the floor.
According to court documents, Anderson also allegedly left the house without food, water or bathroom, causing her to urinate on herself.
During her first hearing, prosecutors alleged her motive was to “discipline” the seven-year-old “for her behavior at school”
Weight called 911 after the six-year-old suffered an apparent seizure when one of the other children living in the home tried to bathe her.
The children told officials that the girl had been locked in a dog crate and beaten with a broom.
“For lack of a better way to put it, she was tortured in that house,” Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele told KDKA.
He said Weight didn’t let emergency workers in and led the six-year-old out himself.
The little girl’s body was covered in open sores and she was believed to be septic.
Of the six children living in the home, only the 6-year-old was targeted, officials said. Four of the others were the couple’s children and one was a cousin.
The cousin told police that Frost tied the little girl’s hands and feet with zip ties and refused to wash her. Another child said the couple wanted the six-year-old child to eat her own trash.