An Oklahoma couple is facing charges after police say they used a tree branch and Taser to discipline a 10-year-old child, and police say they are both on the run.
According to court documents, a Midwest city officer met with a young boy after the victim told school staff about the alleged abuse, then implored the officer not to send him home. The officer said the child was terrified of the consequences, News 9 reports.
The defendants, identified as Jamie Ahmad and Robert Davis, have since moved from their home and police are currently searching for them. They’re both charged with four counts of child abuse.
The allegations began in 2023, when the Department of Human Services removed numerous children from the home, except for the 10-year-old. It’s unclear why DHS allowed the child to stay in the home.
In September 2023, reports indicate that the victim told investigators that he had to complete school assignments in the freezer. If he didn’t finish within five minutes, he was allegedly subjected to beatings with a tree branch.
In October 2023, according to documents, the child told a school resource officer about the abuse and pleaded not to be sent home. The officer reported the case to DHS.
While DHS did not confirm the boy’s timeline, court documents revealed that Ahmad acknowledged using a stun gun. She also reportedly informed investigators that there was no existing law against its usage.
ABC 5 reports that doctors who tended to the victim found numerous “scars and marks” on the child’s body that were “too numerous to count.”
Doctors added that returning the child to his home would “at a high risk of further injury or death if returned to the hands of the caregiver who inflicted these injuries.”
Residents along the serene street where the child lives said they never saw him much.
“I never actually saw him much. I just knew they had a child because I could occasionally hear kids playing in the backyard,” one neighbor told News 9.
Police are currently searching for the suspects. Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: Pixabay]
