GREENE COUNTY, Pa. (TCD) — A 50-year-old man faces several criminal charges after he allegedly beat and buried his young daughter alive in his backyard.
According to a report, on Oct. 19, the Greene County Child and Youth Services contacted Pennsylvania State Police about a suspected child abuse victim. The 6-year-old victim told officials her father, John Kraft, allegedly “struck her with his hands, a belt, and his arm, which has a metal implant from a surgery.”
The girl reportedly said Kraft “choked her to the point of unconsciousness and hit her head off of the floor and walls of the residence.”
When Kraft wanted to punish the girl, he allegedly “would bury her in the backyard.”
According to the statement, “The Victim related that she would be left in the yard until she told the truth and that she would come out of the ground dirty and smelling like sewage.”
The girl suffered bruising to her face, arm, and buttocks, the statement said. The abuse allegedly occurred in September.
Court records show Kraft has been indicted on 15 counts, including aggravated assault — attempts to cause serious bodily injury, aggravated assault —attempts to cause or causes bodily injury with deadly weapon, three counts of endangering the welfare of children, and more.
He was booked into the Greene County Jail with his bond set at $125,000.
KDKA-TV reports the victim and her sibling have reportedly been placed in foster care.
Greene County District Attorney David Russo reportedly said, “The allegations are that this child was beaten brutally, that the child had bruises all over her body, that she was choked to the point that she had passed out. She was buried in a hole as punishment. She was thrown in a hole overnight. Her head was slammed off the wall and slammed off the floor. This is a barbaric situation.”
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