Couple accused of tying up boys, locking them in closet
By Associated Press
Published April 30, 2004
LAKELAND - A father and his live-in girlfriend repeatedly punished his young sons by binding their hands and ankles and locking them in a dark closet for hours, authorities said.
Adrian Freeman, 25, and Jenielle MacDonald, 21, both were charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse, Polk County sheriff's spokesman Col. Grady Judd said.
The brothers, ages 4 and 6, were placed in the custody of the state Department of Children and Families. Judd said they had abrasions on their wrists but otherwise were in good condition.
Deputies learned of the alleged abuse from a friend who visited MacDonald at the home, according to a report.
MacDonald told detectives the abuse began in late March and that the boys were bound with cable ties and locked in the 3-by-6-foot closet as many as 10 times, Judd said.
According to an arrest report, MacDonald said the punishment was the father's idea, and she denied putting any of the cable ties on the children.
Freeman, who was in jail with no bail set Thursday, denied abusing the boys, Judd said. MacDonald was in jail with bail set at $15,000.
