Okla. couple sentenced for tying teen girl to tree over the span of 3 days
02/07/2025 1:42 pm PST
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. (TCN) -- A man and his girlfriend will both spend several decades behind bars for tying his teenage daughter to a tree with ratchet straps over the course of three days.
Court records show Johnny James pleaded guilty on Feb. 5 to child neglect and child abuse, and a judge sentenced him to 35 years in prison. James' girlfriend, Kayla Clark, also entered a guilty plea to child neglect and enabling child abuse. She was handed a 30-year sentence.
According to Bartlesville Radio, on July 28, 2024, Washington County Sheriff's Office deputies were called to a home in Vera regarding alleged abuse of a 15-year-old girl. When they arrived, they located the teen bound to a tree and sleeping on a piece of carpet. The victim, James' daughter, was reportedly in town from Texas. Deputies said the girl had been tied to the tree multiple times over the span of 72 hours.
The Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise reports James told authorities he left the girl outside because she was having problems urinating and defecating in the house. She reportedly has developmental problems, and he attached her to the tree to avoid any future accidents inside. James reportedly also said he did it as punishment because the teen wanted to live with her mother.
KOTV-TV journalist Lori Fullbright reports that a passerby noticed the victim bound to the tree with ratchet straps, so she pulled over to help. The victim reportedly had "a hole on her leg and lesions on her arm and it appeared the girl had been there for days."
James said he only left her there for about an hour, but confessed that it wasn't the first time he utilized this form of punishment.
Clark reportedly told deputies that she was in the shower when James tied his daughter up, and she didn't notice the victim when they went to church because she was "frazzled."
The Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise reports some of James' family members did not report the suspected abuse because they were afraid of him.
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