HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – A couple in Arkansas was arrested after a 4-year-old girl was allegedly zip-tied, beaten, and emotionally abused.
The girl’s mother, 30-year-old Jennifer Diane Denen, and her live-in boyfriend, 47-year-old Clarence Eugene Reed were arrested and charged with first-degree domestic battery, permitting abuse of a minor, and first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, according to The Sentinel-Record.
Court documents state the girl had deep purple bruising on her bottom, lower back, and legs. She had a black eye, a swollen right cheek, dried blood in the corner of her mouth, and a bruise on her forehead. The report said she also had scarring across her back.
Officers said when they asked the girl her name, she told them it was “idiot.”
There was another child in the home, and that child reportedly told police the girl had been tied up and called “idiot.”
Police say Denen admitted to not seeking medical care for the girl’s injuries, and she confirmed that Reed referred to the child as “idiot.”
Reed allegedly admitted to calling the girl “idiot,” but he said it was a joke.
The Sentinel-Record reports the couple is being held in the Garland County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
