A Utah father and his girlfriend have been charged with child torture after they allegedly starved his 5-year-old daughter to the point where she ate her own feces and other non-food items in an attempt to “save” herself.
Daniel James Fivas, 32, brought the little girl to the hospital on August 30 because she was “not gaining weight and would eat her own feces,” the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office said.
Hospital staff noted “severe malnutrition and growth failure” in the girl, identifed as R.C. in court documents. Her weight when she was admitted to the hospital was consistent with a 16-month-old child, the DA’s office said.
Investigators interviewed Fivas, his girlfriend 41-year-old Jessica Marie Harmes, and Harmes’ 13-year-old son, who told them that he and his mother lived in a one-bedrom apartment with Fivas, R.C., and a newborn stepsister, A.Z.
The teen said “that R.C. was known to access the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry, which led his family to install child locks to prevent R.C. from accessing the food. D.H. said it was Harmes’ idea to lock up the fridge and freezer.”
Fivas told investigators that R.C. “likes to steal food,” leading them to put locks on cabinets, the refrigerator, freezer, and garbage. Fivas also said that he had tried to give up custody of the girl because she “rubbed him the wrong way” and he “resented” her.
Harmes said she noticed after she and her son moved in with Fivas that R.C. would “eat large quantities of food” so they were “hesitant to give her more food.” She said R.C. would “bulk up a little” and then “lose it again,” saying she was “really, really thin” although she was given the same amount of food the 13-year-old ate.
Harmes said they tried to give the girl to state authorities when they learned she was pregnant but they “wouldn’t take her.” She said Fivas told the authorities he didn’t want her and didn’t want to take care of her.
An affidavit obtained by Law&Crime said that Fivas claimed the girl would eat until she vomited and then eat non-food items such as wax and Play-Doh along with feces.
“Over the course of at least two years, the victim has been plummeting in health and growth,” detectives wrote in the affidavit. “The defendants, angry that the victim was ‘stealing food’ that they were depriving her of, went a step further and put child safety locks on every cabinet and appliance that had food.”
“A common late-stage manifestation of starvation is the ability to overcome revulsion and eat non-food in an attempt to sustain themselves, and that eating feces is likely due to starvation,” the affidavit said.
Investigators said R.C. was also forced to sleep on the ground with only a blanket and was not enrolled in school. According to KUTV, Fivas said there was a mattress in storage but it was “too hard to get to” and there was “no room for it.”
The girl was placed in foster care. The status of the other two children was not clear.
Doctors said that R.C. gained nearly 9 pounds over her 16 days of hospitalization “with consistent, scheduled meals,” the DA’s office said.
Last week, Fivas and Harmes were charged with one count each of first degree felony child torture.
“Our children depend on us to care for them, as parents that is our responsibility. Those who do not fulfill this obligation will be held to account for it,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill.
They were denied bond at a hearing last week.
“I do agree that this individual is a danger to the community, not just to his own children, but to any other children,” Judge Richard W. Daynes said, according to Law&Crime. “Based on the depravity of the allegations here, it would appear to me that there’s more going on here than just simple neglect.”
Fivas is due in court again on November 24.
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[Featured image: Daniel Fivas/LinkedIn]
