A man and woman were arrested and charged with child abuse after separate incidents with duct tape and a stun gun, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
On Saturday, January 2, Yalonda Ashley, 36, used duct tape to bind a little girl's hands together, and put another piece of tape over her mouth as punishment, said deputies.
An affidavit said the victim was being pushed around by her siblings. Ashley bound the girl with the tape, and told her it was to "teach her a lesson to keep her hands and feet to herself."
The victim told deputies that the tape was removed by Steven Sanchez after several minutes.
But that's just the beginning. During the investigation, detectives learned Sanchez also used a stun gun on the girl at their Lakeland home.
The victim and two witnesses said Sanchez was using the stun gun as a scare tactic to get several children to clean the residence. One witness said the girl became rude, and that's when Sanchez used the stun gun.
"They were kind of at their wits end, and we understand parents get frustrated, we understand caregivers get frustrated, but there is a law and it's child abuse and you can't break that law no matter what," said Carrie Horstman, Spokesperson for the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
ABC Action News stopped at the couple's home in Lakeland, where the stun gun incident occured. The woman who came to the door wouldn't answer many questions but defended the couple calling them "good people."
Neighbors can't wrap their head around the disturbing allegations.
"I think it's disgusting and any person who does something like that should be put away or put on an island somewhere," said Elaine Bradford, who lives a few doors down.
Ashley was charged with child abuse, and Sanchez was charged with child abuse and failure to report the duct tape abuse.
