An Indiana police officer and his wife face charges of child abuse and neglect after, authorities say, their 6-year-old daughter was forced to stand outside in freezing temperatures holding a humiliating sign. Passers-by saw the girl standing outside a home in Logansport in 18-degree weather during the January incident, which is just now being widely reported. The sign read, "I want to stab and kill my brother. I even take an antipsychotic. If you need to give pity then give it to the victims," WTHR reports. Concerned witnesses called 911, and one of them tells the Pharos-Tribune she knew the girl's father was a local police officer and specifically asked that he not respond to the scene. He did respond, but the woman refused to talk until a second officer showed up. That officer, however, declined to let her file a police report.
Fox 59 reports that in body camera footage from the scene, the girl's father, Cody Scott, can be heard telling a concerned passer-by, "Aside from me cruelly beating her physically, I've not done any other punishment that's worked for her. She's threatened to kill my family, she wants to embarrass us, she wants to urinate on herself and destroy things in the house." He went on to explain that the girl is in therapy and working with a case worker from the Department of Child Services (DCS), then added, "She goes in every 30 minutes to warm back up, she's bundled up very warm and then she'll come back out." After being told she couldn't file a police report, the woman who called 911 reported the incident to DCS and then posted a photo of the girl online to bring attention to the incident.
Ultimately, the Indiana State Police got involved and the Cass County Prosecutor's Office later decided to file charges. Cody and Kylie Scott have both pleaded not guilty to felony neglect of a dependent charges. Cody Scott was initially placed on paid leave, but the Logansport Board of Public Works and Safety Committee recently put him on unpaid administrative leave, Local 12 reports. Investigators say the the Scotts had previously made the girl hold signs reading, "I pee on everything and cover it up like a cat" and "I lie to hurt other people." The girl told investigators she was also sometimes made to stay in her room and was not allowed to use the restroom, and that her younger brother is not similarly punished. Her parents say she has been diagnosed with behavioral disorders and is on medication. (More Indiana stories.)
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