An Indiana police officer and his wife have been charged with neglect after bystanders reported that the couple allegedly forced their 6-year-old daughter to stand outside in the cold holding a sign as a punishment.
According to court documents obtained by local outlets Fox 59, WTHR and the Pharos-Tribune, a woman in Logansport called 911 on Jan. 19 to report that a young girl was standing outside in 18-degree weather holding a sign that 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.”
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Fox 59, Logansport Police Department officer Cody Scott and his supervisor responded to the 911 call. Body camera footage allegedly showed a witness who called to report the incident speaking with the two officers, telling them: “This baby is standing out here in the freezing cold with a sign.”
“Well, sir, aside from me cruelly beating her physically, I’ve not done any other punishment that’s worked for her,” Cody then said in response, according to a transcription of the audio from the affidavit. “She’s threatened to kill my family, she wants to embarrass us, she wants to urinate on herself and destroy things in the house.”
The girl was allegedly identified as Cody’s 6-year-old daughter.
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“I have a DCS caseworker involved, she’s been in therapy for three years, she also has the wraparound program at school,” Cody continued, per the court documents. “She goes in every 30 minutes to warm back up, she’s bundled up very warm, and then she’ll come back out.”
An Indiana State Police (ISP) officer later reviewed the body camera footage and contacted the Department of Child Services to open an investigation after further reports from witnesses, the documents state.
Cody and his wife, Kylie Scott, were later interviewed by the ISP. They told investigators that the punishment on Jan. 19 stemmed from an incident in which the 6-year-old pouted about wearing lip gloss.
Kylie allegedly told investigators that their daughter often acted out for attention, sometimes urinating herself, and they often punished her by forcing her to hold a sign, the outlets reported. The couple also said that she had been diagnosed with several mental disorders and claimed she had threatened to shoot or cut their younger child.
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The 6-year-old was also interviewed by a caseworker at a child advocacy center, per the court documents. She told officials that she had previously been grounded and told to stay in her room, even if she had to use the bathroom, and said that her brother did not receive the same punishments as her.
Additionally, the documents state that the caseworker found the girl had been made to hold a sign multiple times as a punishment. In another incident, her parents allegedly forced her to bring a sign to school that said “I pee on everything and cover it up like a cat,” and in another instance, she carried a sign reading “I lie to hurt other people” to Walmart.
The Pharos-Tribune reported that Cody was placed on administrative leave without pay in January. Both Cody and Kylie are facing two level 6 felony charges of neglect of a dependent.
The couple appeared in court on Thursday, March 13, and pleaded not guilty, Fox 59 reported. Both are due back in court on May 8 for a pretrial conference, and a trial date has been set for Sept. 22.
Indiana State Police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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