Michigan Couple Arrested For Abusing and Torturing Toddler

[Anthony]

Police arrested a Michigan couple three months after they discovered a malnourished toddler in the house. Joseph Franks, 30, and 27-year-old girlfriend, Andrea Limon, were at their Long Lake Township home on Tuesday when authorities came knocking. “It was a matter of investigating medical records and waiting for the prosecutor’s office review,†Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Lt. Chris Barsheff said.
The two suspects appeared in 86th District Court for arraignment on torture and first-degree child abuse charges. Both charges come with potential life sentences.
Police were notified in April by the babysitter. She told police she went into the toddler's bedroom and saw the little girl in her crib wearing urine-soaked clothing. The babysitter also noticed the child had lost a significant amount of weight.
In the police reported it stated that a deputy came to the residence and questioned Franks and Limon. The documents say the deputy noticed Franks holding the child wrapped in a blanket.
"When he set the child down, the blanket fell to the ground and the deputy immediately noticed severe bruising from the top of her back all the way to her pant line," the report said. "He also noticed fresh scab marks on her face and the top of her head."
The deputy called for an ambulance to have the toddler sent to the local hospital. The child was treated for several cuts and bruises to her body. She only weighed 30.8 pounds.
Limon, not the biological mother of the little girl told investigators that the toddler was "extremely difficult," according to court documents. Franks said his daughter had autism, a hair-pulling disorder and had difficulties getting along with adults.
"Franks indicated that she has no pain threshold and that she injured herself throughout the day on April 20, by 'throwing fits,'" the report stated. The doctor reported that the toddler did not have autism.
The authorities released the toddler into her grandmother's care. The grandmother told authorities that the little girl never caused injury to herself, pulled her hair or picked her skin, according to the report.
The two suspects are currently in jail on 10 percent $25,000 bonds. They are scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary examination on July 22.

 

[Muthoni]

Franks had the audacity to lie that the child had autism; he is not cut out to be a parent. I hope that the grandmother is able to love her unconditionally so that she can heal from being deprived of love. The beauty of children is the ability to adjust to a new environment. Good luck to this little girl.