BROOKSVILLE - She spent a third of her young life behind a bedroom door, locked to keep her brother from sneaking in snacks. She drank milk and, three times a day, received a spoonful of food. When the authorities found her, she was 10 years old and 29 pounds.
The couple entrusted by the state to care for her said it was for her own good.
``When they showed me pictures of the 10-year-old girl, it reminded me of the photos after World War II of the Nazi death camps,'' Hernando County Sheriff Richard Nugent said. ``Her eyes and face are sunken. The little girl has some serious problems that may affect her mental development.''
A month after child welfare workers removed the girl and her brother from the Brooksville home, authorities on Friday arrested Arthur Thomas Allain Jr., 46, and Lori Allain, 47, both of 14327 Hurricane Drive, on charges of aggravated child abuse and neglect.
They were released from the Hernando County Jail after posting $20,000 bail each.
Authorities say the couple kept the girl locked in her bedroom from Jan. 26, 2001, to May 18. She was rescued that day by workers for the Florida Department of Children & Families who were acting on a complaint.
During the investigation, Lori Allain appeared in Fifth Judicial Circuit Court for a hearing before Judge Curtis Neal.
According to court documents, she testified that the girl suffered from an eating disorder that caused her to vomit what she had been fed. The couple placed a double- keyed lock on the bedroom door, she testified, to keep the girl's brother from feeding her.
Lori Allain testified that the couple put the girl on a strict diet of one spoonful of food three times a way. They gave her several glasses of milk a day, as well as the dietary supplement Ensure.
A paint bucket was placed in the child's room as a toilet
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The couple entrusted by the state to care for her said it was for her own good.
``When they showed me pictures of the 10-year-old girl, it reminded me of the photos after World War II of the Nazi death camps,'' Hernando County Sheriff Richard Nugent said. ``Her eyes and face are sunken. The little girl has some serious problems that may affect her mental development.''
A month after child welfare workers removed the girl and her brother from the Brooksville home, authorities on Friday arrested Arthur Thomas Allain Jr., 46, and Lori Allain, 47, both of 14327 Hurricane Drive, on charges of aggravated child abuse and neglect.
They were released from the Hernando County Jail after posting $20,000 bail each.
Authorities say the couple kept the girl locked in her bedroom from Jan. 26, 2001, to May 18. She was rescued that day by workers for the Florida Department of Children & Families who were acting on a complaint.
During the investigation, Lori Allain appeared in Fifth Judicial Circuit Court for a hearing before Judge Curtis Neal.
According to court documents, she testified that the girl suffered from an eating disorder that caused her to vomit what she had been fed. The couple placed a double- keyed lock on the bedroom door, she testified, to keep the girl's brother from feeding her.
Lori Allain testified that the couple put the girl on a strict diet of one spoonful of food three times a way. They gave her several glasses of milk a day, as well as the dietary supplement Ensure.
A paint bucket was placed in the child's room as a toilet
http://www.tampatrib.com/MGB700T7NVD.html