An Oklahoma judge has handed down long prison sentences to a couple who did something shocking—tying a 15-year-old girl to a tree for three days because they claimed she “could not be trusted.”
Johnny James, 41, is going to prison for 35 years after pleading guilty to child abuse and neglect. His girlfriend, Kayla Clark, 42, received a 30-year sentence after admitting to child neglect and enabling abuse. The sentencing took place on Wednesday, and the girl, who is now living with a foster family, had the chance to share her feelings in court.
The case first came to light on July 28 in Vera, a small town in northeastern Oklahoma, about 25 miles north of Tulsa. Deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded to a disturbing child abuse complaint. A woman had called 911, saying that a teenage girl was tied up in a backyard and needed medical help. She described the girl as having a hole in her leg and sores on her arms. The caller revealed that the girl had been tied up for three days and that she had been secretly giving her food.
When deputies arrived at the home, they found the girl sitting outside near a red shed and a chicken coop. She was on a piece of carpet, bent over with a bandage on her knee, and a ratchet-style tie-down strap around her body.
One of the people at the scene, whom the girl identified as her “nana,” was hesitant to talk at first. She denied knowing anything about the girl’s condition. But eventually, she admitted that she was aware of what was happening but was too scared of Johnny James to speak up.
James showed up at the house while deputies were there, and he didn’t try to hide what he had done. He openly admitted to tying the girl up, claiming she “cannot be trusted and likes to lie.” He insisted she wasn’t restrained for long, saying it was only for an hour when he left the house. However, he later admitted that this had happened on two different occasions.
James tried to justify his actions, telling deputies that the girl had been left outside while they went to the store and to church because she had been peeing and pooping on herself. He said he didn’t want that mess inside the house, so he kept her outside. He even said that tying her up was the only way he knew to keep her under control. But when questioned further, he admitted that he needed to “figure out another solution.”
Kayla Clark, on the other hand, claimed she didn’t know anything about the girl being tied up. She told officers she had been in the shower when it happened and was too “frazzled” that morning to notice anything before they left for church.
The girl was taken to the hospital by first responders, and the Department of Human Services took custody of her and the other children who lived in the house.
This horrifying case has left many people shocked, but justice has now been served. James and Clark will be spending decades behind bars for what they did. Meanwhile, the teenage girl, after enduring such terrible abuse, is now safe and getting the care she needs.
