Zip-tied 4-year-old: Couple zip-tied 4-year-old daughter’s wrists, ankles to baby gate in home. A couple is accused of using plastic zip ties to bind their 4-year-old daughter's wrists and ankles to a baby gate, according to Raleigh authorities.
Police say Gerald Thomas Swinehart, 26, and 28-year-old Marianne Victoria Coffey, 28, are accused of using the plastic ties used by electricians to bundle wires to tie the child to the gate.
Investigators also said Swinehart pushed or kicked the child so hard that her lower teeth broke through her lower lip.
Arrest warrants said the incidents occurred in February and March, but the documents didn't say if police believe it happened once or was an ongoing practice.
Swinehart is charged with two counts of intentional child abuse inflicting serious physical injury. Coffey is charged with one count.
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