A Gary couple has been charged after they were reportedly accused of locking five young girls in a furnace closet for hours and a man allegedly sexually abused some of them.
The Northwest Indiana Times reports that Dearieus L. Kindred, 28, and Kristen D. Kindred, 33, were charged Friday with five counts of neglect of a dependent. Dearieus Kindred also faces six charges of child molesting.
According to court documents, the girls, who were between 6 and 11 years old, told police they were locked in a furnace closet multiple times, sometimes in the summer months.
The youngest victim was reportedly 4 years old when the alleged abuse began.
One girl told police the couple forced some of them to do squats against a living room wall for hours and another said Dearieus Kindred hit them almost daily, the NWI Times reported.
Four of the victims reportedly told police they were sexually abused by Dearieus Kindred on different occasions.
