A mother and grandmother in Pennsylvania were arrested recently and are facing charges for the alleged abuse of a 12-year-old girl. The two suspects, Amanda Lynn Gregorio, 35, and Stacey Ann Louder, 52, have been charged with various offenses including aggravated assault of a child, conspiracy, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, endangering the welfare of children, recklessly endangering another person, simple assault, and tampering with evidence.
Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said the girl weighed 50 pound when she was rescued from her abusers, The Citizen’s Voice reported.
The arrests took place after the girl was removed from their custody and placed under the care of Luzerne County Children, Youth and Families. The child had been brought to the hospital with symptoms resembling seizures, leading to the investigation that uncovered disturbing details.
The authorities found that the girl’s mother, Gregorio, had purposely given her excessive amounts of Benadryl and melatonin before the hospital visit. Additionally, it was reported that the girl had been confined to her bed and fed cat food as part of the abuse she endured.
Medical staff said the child had abrasions, bruises, and scars from restraints.
The arrest report said that the girl told investigators she would be restrained in the bed for long periods of time and had to defecate and urinate in the bed.
Gregorio reportedly told a witness that she fed the girl cat food and blamed her own mother, Louder, for “making her” put the child in restraints.
Investigators found that the suspects had installed a surveillance camera in the girl’s room to make sure she didn’t get out of the restraints.
The arrest report says that at one point, Gregorio hit the girl in the head with a broom, causing a cut Louder closed up with glue. The girl showed up at school with a black eye at about that time and told school officials she walked into a wall. After that, she stopped attending a brick and mortar school and attended an online school.
Gregorio and Louder were ordered jailed on Monday and given $125,000 bails each. A preliminary hearing is set for May 6.
