Mother accused of binding child each night

• Tweet

DENVER, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- A 52-year-old Denver woman allegedly bound her 10-year-old daughter with zip ties each night for a year to prevent her from stealing food, police say.

The unidentified child, in an arrest affidavit, accused her mother, Danelle Daunchet, of binding her hands behind her back each night before she went to sleep, the Rocky Mountain News reported.

The child alleged Daunchet "puts the zips on like the police would put on handcuffs and it hurts."

The girl said after being forced to sleep on her side at night to avoid pain, her mother would remove the ties with a knife.

The Rocky Mountain News said the girl allegedly showed police wounds on her arms from where the knife occasionally cut or poked her. It was not reported how the alleged acts of abuse were uncovered.

Daunchet is due in court on Friday to face charges of child abuse and causing serious bodily injury, the newspaper said.