Babysitters accused of forcing nine-year-old girl to drink dog urine
Jakayo Scott Frye and Shyann Marie Hills were babysitting four children and have been accused of physical and psychological terror towards two of them in a course of six days. Jakayo Scott Frye and Shyann Marie Hills, both 22, were charged Wednesday (August 1) in Pennsylvania. The pair has been arrested for a number of charges, including aggravated assault, false imprisonment, unlawful restraint and child endangerment. Some of the abuse by the couple included making a girl drink dog urine, knocking out her brother and inflicting beatings that left visible injuries. Police reported that the victim's mother had paid Jakayo $100 to watch her four children.
The children's mother was out for a week in North Carolina, where she vacationed at a house trailer in the town of Rome, near the New York border. As reported by Fox News, the nine-year-old girl had suffered the most number of abuses from the hands of the couple. As per the report, she was tied to a cabinet by the wrists until her hands turned purple and later forced to lick her own urine from the floor after she was not allowed to use the bathroom for an extended period.
The children were picked up by their mother on July 27. After meeting her mother, the girl complained of feeling immense pain on her back and said that she felt like she was going to pass out. Her mother observed that her daughter had a number of bruises on her body and also had difficulty walking.
She was immediately taken to the hospital. Upon observing, a nurse stated that the girl suffered a possible ankle sprain, was dehydrated and showed severe injury or stress to her muscle tissue. The police observed that two of her children had bruises all over their body. They also noticed the girl's "extremely swollen and red" ears. One of her sisters informed the police that the girl was picked up repeatedly by the ears by the couple.
The mother told the police that the pair had tried to give an explanation for the bruises by stating that the children kept throwing themselves at the wall a number of times and as for the nine-year-old, they said that at one point a dog crate had fallen on her which resulted in heavy bruises. The pair has since been arrested and put behind the bars. Jakayo's bail was set at $750,000 and Shyann's at $500,000.
Upon further investigation, the police officers found other details of the abuse. The girl was forced to run in place with a 5-gallon jug tied to her body, as well as, told to hold a "plank" position and if she moved, nails would puncture her feet. There were times when the girl was kept awake the entire day while not being fed. She was also tied to a dog crate by her waist and hands. Her eight-year-old sister recalled that the girl was asked to drink dog urine with a straw.
The 9-year-old girl told an interviewer "they treated the dogs better" than they treated her and her brother, who was 14-years-old. She recalled that Jakayo threatened her to keep quiet or else "he would 'come for her." The child then told the police that he was tied up because she was crying for her mother, and was being abused. She also noted that on multiple occasions, her head was smashed against a bedroom door and the refrigerator.
The pair has also been accused of beating children with their fists, a metal stove handle, and a belt. Jakayo reportedly stood on the back of the 7-year-old boy while he was in a "push up" position until he passed out. His 10-year-old sister noted that "they woke him up by putting his head under water." The couple forced the 14-year-old to beat his 7-year-old brother as well. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 14.