Couple Allegedly Locks Child Up In Her Bedroom, Nails The Windows Shut

A child was allegedly abused in an Ohio home and kept locked inside a room with the windows nailed shut.

The child's father and his partner were arrested after the abuse came to light, the Sebring Police Department reportedly said.

Police officers discovered the alleged abuse while responding to a report about an unruly child. They arrived at the West Ohio Avenue home and found the girl, according to WKBN.

Other children were also present inside the house at the time. Child Protective Services were soon involved in the case, and an investigation ensued.

The girl's father, Samuel Sweely, and his girlfriend, Aimee Loveland, are currently accused of keeping the girl inside her bedroom and locking the door from the outside. The windows of the room were also shut and nailed from the outside.

Investigators got in touch with Sebring McKinley school officials and were told that the girl would be locked up in the room and was only allowed to step out when she wanted to use the bathroom, 21 WFMJ reported.

The girl spoke to investigators and said her father hit her seven times with a belt. She also claimed that the woman smacked her thrice in the face, as per the outlet.

The child would also have to wait until the couple and the other children in the house finished their dinner before she could eat her meal, police reportedly said.

The age and the identity of the abused child were not immediately released. It is also unclear how long she was kept locked up inside the bedroom.

Sweely and Loveland were arrested on Jan. 6 and booked into the county jail. They were charged with domestic violence, assault and endangering children.

The couple is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.

The remaining children that were found inside the house were temporarily removed from the residence. Officials said this was done with the children's best interests in mind.

A similar incident was reported in November 2022 after a woman in India locked up her 9-year-old stepdaughter inside a box and then filed a missing report. The stepmother told cops that the child failed to return home after leaving for a shop. The young victim spent hours inside the box before officers found her unconscious inside.