SARASOTA, Fl. — A couple from Sarasota were jailed on child abuse charges after police say their 12-year-old daughter somehow made her way to a neighbor’s house with her hands zip-tied behind her back.
WFLA reported the child had zip ties around her hands and her ankles.
When questioned by investigators, the little girl said her parents, Eugenio and Victoria Erquiaga , regularly restrained her with the ties when she got angry.
Often times it was reportedly to the point where she couldn’t move.
They would then force her into a playhouse in a loft area of the home, and lock it from the outside.
Investigators went to the child’s home and discovered a playhouse that was 5′ by 7′ wide and 7′ tall.
Deputies said there was a piece of wood that was used to keep the door shut and all of the windows had been screwed shut.
Inside, the playhouse smelled of urine where the child had been forced to go to the bathroom on herself.
They also discovered an eye hook, which the couple admitted was used to hold the zip ties to keep the 12-year-old from kicking the playhouse apart.
In the affidavit, the parents were reported as telling police their daughter was prone to violent, unprovoked outbursts that they believed created a danger to her safety and the safety of the other seven children inside the home.
They went on to say that the little girl seemed to “enjoyed the chaos she would create.”
The Erquiagas’ told investigators they only recently began using the zip ties after watching a show on TV in which police used them to restrain criminals.
They would have her wear them all the time in order to immediately restrain her when she would have a violent outburst.
All of the children were placed into the custody of the Department of Children and Families.
The couple were arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse.
Their bond was set at $5,000 each.
Neither of them are allowed to have any contact with their children until the DCF decides otherwise.