A Utah father and stepmother were arrested after police officers said an investigation indicated they had tortured a 9-year-old girl as a form of punishment.
An investigation into possible child abuse was launched on Dec. 3 after the Provo Police Department received a report from the Division of Child and Family Services.
“The 9-year-old went into detail saying that Joseph and Ilaria would take her to the bathroom and tie her hands behind her back. They would then hold her down in the bathtub and place a towel over her face and pour water on it,” the affidavit stated. “The 9-year-old stated that she cannot breathe and it hurts when this happens.”
The description is similar to what the 9-year-old was allegedly put through.
The girl’s stepmother also allegedly punched her, which caused her nose to bleed.
Doctors Find Marks
Doctors who examined the girl found marks on her wrist that would be consistent with her hands being tied up.Police officers said they found a credit card on Joseph Mitchell when he was being booked into jail that was in his 7-year-old nephew’s name. In addition to a child abuse charge, he is facing unlawful possession of a bank card.
Mother Speaks Out
The girl’s biological mother, Brittany Calabrese, who lives in Texas, told WKRC about the alleged waterboarding: “She’s nine, nine years old. That is torture of a child.”She said that when she first heard about the punishment from Child Protection Services, she couldn’t believe it.
The mother is attempting to regain custody and previously planned to have her visit for Christmas, but according to ABC, that’s now not going to happen.