A mother restrained her daughter with handcuffs for several hours until the girl was able to escape to a neighbor’s house, as reported by authorities in Charleston, West Virginia.
Laura Southworth, 54, faces charges related to child neglect that resulted in injury, created a risk of injury, and involved unlawful restraint.
On Monday, Charleston Police officers responded to a call on Bridge Road about a girl arriving at a residence and claiming she had been abused, as detailed in documents. The preliminary account indicated that she was also restrained with handcuffs on her wrist.
Authorities responded to discover that the young girl was indeed wearing handcuffs on her wrists, according to reports.
“According to her, her mom, later identified as Laura Southworth, had put the handcuffs on her wrist because she was stealing from her brothers,” police said. “She was then able to slip the handcuff off of her right wrist but was unable to slip the one off her left wrist.”
According to the documents, a detective subsequently visited Southworth’s residence.
“As I went inside the residence, I noticed it to be extremely messy with multiple items covering the floor throughout the house,” police wrote.
Southworth reportedly confessed to authorities that she restrained the girl with handcuffs on Sunday night into Monday morning. According to police, she reported that the girl was involved in disruptive actions, including taking food and concealing it in secret spots, as well as attempting to exit the house without authorization.
Authorities reported that the restraint was excessively tight on the child’s wrist, but they eventually managed to remove it.
According to jail records, Southworth is currently in custody with a bail set at $10,000.