Two Texas sisters were arrested last week and charged with abusing a 12-year-old child for months.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said it launched an investigation on September 28 after the child reported ongoing physical and sexual abuse. She was taken to a hospital, where staff confirmed injuries “consistent with abuse and malnutrition.”
Brenda Garcia, 38, and Tania Garcia, 37, were arrested on Friday and charged with multiple counts, including injury to a child, unlawful restraint, and invasive visual recording.
The sheriff’s office did not release further information, but court documents detail months of abuse that began when the girl, who had been living with an uncle who allegedly sexually abused her, asked Brenda Garcia, who knew the uncle, for help, KTRK reported.
Garcia agreed to help, and the girl moved in with the sisters in March. But, the complaint says, they began almost immediately to emotionally and physically abuse the girl.
The victim told authorities she was regularly tied up an dhit with a variety of objects, including belts, electrical cords, and sticks. The sisters allegedly cut her with scissors and choked her.
Medical staff said the girl was covered in bruises after her escape and had multiple cuts and scars, including an infected gash on her forehead.
The sisters told investigators that the girl was “psychotic” and that her injuries were self-inflicted, KHOU reported. But investigators obtained cell phone video and security footage from inside the home that contradicted their claims.
The sisters reportedly told the girl to “just die already,” tied her to chairs, alternately starved her and forced her to eat off the floor, and photographed her naked.
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[Featured image: Tania Garcia and Brenda Garcia/Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office]
