A couple has been accused of forcing their children to brush their teeth with cat faeces, shock one with a dog collar, and a litany of other appalling acts of abuse.
James Howard Chalkley, 32, and his 22-year-old wife Cheyanne, who is stepmother to the children, have been charged with abusing their three kids – a boy, three, and his two sisters, five and 10.
The children allege their dad was furious they didn’t clean up cat litter he found in the wardrobe so he smeared the waste on at least two of them.
He forced the five-year-old girl to eat the faeces and brush her teeth with it so forcefully she bled, according to warrants.
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The same girl said he had used a dog’s shock collar to punish her, leaving green marks on her skin.
All three children said their father and stepmother hit them with belts and switches, sometimes embedded with thorns, according to authorities.
The children were taken in to custody after a teacher noticed bruising on the five-year-old’s leg in September.
The American couple had been investigated by Texas Child Protective Services on at least three separate occasions, according to ABC News.
Chalkely reportedly asked his wife if he thought his punishments, including hosing his children down with cold water in the middle of winter, were too harsh. She replied that she would hit the children more if they were her own kids, according to investigators.
The case is ongoing and the children are currently in foster care after being removed from their home near San Antonio.
