N.C. couple allegedly zip-tied 4-year-old girl to gate

The Charlotte Observer reported Monday that a couple in Raleigh, N.C., have been charged with intentional felony child abuse causing serious physical injury after they allegedly zip tied their 4-year-old to her baby gate.

Arrest warrants indicate that the girl's 26-year-old father, Gerald Thomas Swinehart, pushed and kicked her until her lower teeth punched through her lower lip. Her mother, 28-year-old Marlaine Victoria Coffey, helped tie her ankles and wrists to the baby gate using plastic fasteners.

According to WTVD, the girl, now in the custody of social services, received bruises on her limbs from the zip ties.

Swinehart is in jail on a $100,000 bond, while Coffey is being held under $50,000 bond.