EXETER, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Investigators are calling it one of the most brutal cases of child abuse they have ever seen. A malnourished 11-year-old girl suffering from bruising and burns was restrained to a bed.
And what makes it even more disturbing, detectives say, the child's mother and grandmother are the accused abusers.
28/22 news first told you about the arrests of 52-year-old Stacey Lounder and 35-year-old Amanda Gregorio from Exeter on Tuesday.
I-Team Reporter Andy Mehalshick has the details, and 28/22 News must warn you, the details are disturbing.
"In cases like this, I think what's most heartbreaking is that the people responsible for keeping their children safe are the abusers," Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said.
Two women accused of restraining malnourished child to bed
Investigators say 52-year-old Stacey Louder and her daughter, 36-year-old Amanda Gregorio, abused the child, who is now 12, at their home in Exeter from September of 2023 to September of 2024.
Detectives say the abuse was discovered when the girl was rushed to a hospital after suffering seizures.
"Part of what's most offensive is keeping this child strapped to a bed during the time she was asleep and awake. They also were viewing her with a baby monitor, which is typically used to keep a child from harming themselves, knowing when they're awake. That was actually used in this case to make sure she didn't try to get out of her restraints or get out of bed," Sanguedolce explained.
The criminal arrest affidavit details the abuse inflicted on the girl, including:
Witness described a photo of the victim saying it looked like "Jesus on the cross" being restrained to a bed.
The child urinated and defecated in bed.
A laceration on her head was glued to hide the injury.
She was fed cat food.
She weighs only 50 pounds.
"She's far from out of harm's way. As you probably read in the release or affidavit of probable cause, she's under one 100th percentile of a healthy child her age," Sanguedolce added.
Neighbors, like Jessica Wolfe, say they had no idea the abuse was taking place.
"I was shocked because she's been the bus stop mom for years, and we all trusted her with our kids up there. So the fact that this was going on, it's ridiculous," Wolfe said.
If convicted of all charges, they face at least 10 years in prison. They will have a hearing next month.
