Laura Southworth, Charleston, West Virginia mom arrested after handcuffing juvenile for more than 13 hours after child managed to flee to neighbors seeking help. Mom insists she was only meting out punishment for bad behavior.
Describe child disciplining and punishment? A West Virginia woman has been accused of child abuse after her juvenile daughter fled to a neighbor’s home wearing handcuffs pleading for help.
Laura Southworth, 54, of Charleston, WVA, was arrested and charged with child abuse and unlawful restraint following responding police arriving at the scene.
Matters came to the fore after a juvenile girl fled from her mother’s home to her neighbor’s home on Monday just before 9am at the 700 block of Bridge Road.
West Virginia mom insists she was only disciplining ‘unruly’ child
According to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court, the juvenile was able to slip the handcuff off of her right wrist, allowing her to leave her home and go to a neighbor’s home for help. Responding officers found the girl — whose age was not revealed — with the handcuffs still on her left wrist, WSAZ reported.
In the criminal complaint, Southworth told officers she had handcuffed her child on Sunday evening ‘as a form of punishment’ after the child allegedly smearing feces on walls, stealing and hiding food and trying to leave the home without permission.
Investigators say the child had been handcuffed for approximately 13 hours and that the handcuff was very tight, and officers were able to remove it.
Officers noted in the criminal complaint that the home was extremely messy according to a Charleston Police Department release.
‘Upon further investigation, evidence of abuse and neglect was discovered to have taken place inside the juvenile’s home,’ Lt. Tony Hazelett said in the release.
During her arraignment, Southworth said she had four children living with her ranging in age from 3 to 16 years old.
Southworth is currently being held on a $10,000 surety/cash bond. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Oct. 2.
The Charleston Police Department, Child Protective Services and the Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office are working on the case.
