An Oklahoma couple has been sentenced to lengthy prison terms after they were found guilty of tying a 15-year-old girl to a tree for three days. Johnny James, 41, was sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to child abuse and neglect. His partner, Kayla Clark, 42, received a 30-year sentence after admitting to child neglect and enabling abuse.
The victim, who is now in foster care, was given the opportunity to make a victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing. The incident came to light when deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded to a child abuse complaint at a home in Vera, a small town in northeast Oklahoma, on July 28.
A woman had alerted the authorities that a 15-year-old girl was tied up in the backyard and required medical attention. The girl had a hole in her leg and lesions on her arms, according to the woman who had been secretly providing her with food. The girl and her family were visiting from Texas at the time of the incident.
Upon arrival, deputies found the girl sitting on a piece of carpet next to a red shed and a chicken coop. She was leaning over at the waist with a bandage below her knee and a ratchet-style tie-down strap around her. A witness, identified by the girl as her grandmother, initially denied knowledge of the girl’s condition but later admitted to being aware of the situation but too afraid of James to intervene.
James, upon arriving home, admitted to the deputies that he had tied the girl up because he believed she could not be trusted and was prone to lying. He claimed that she had only been tied up for a short period, possibly an hour, while he was away. However, he admitted to tying her up on two separate occasions.
James justified his actions by stating that the girl was left outside when he went to the store or church because she had a habit of soiling herself and he did not want the mess inside the house. He claimed that tying her up was the only option he had to restrain her. He also attributed the girl’s behavioral issues to her desire to live with her mother and acknowledged that he would need to find another solution.
When questioned, Clark claimed ignorance of the situation, stating that she was in the shower and did not know anything had happened. She also claimed not to have seen the girl outside when they left for church that morning because she was too “frazzled”.
The girl was taken to the hospital by first responders, and the Department of Human Services took custody of her and other children in the home.