Mother, stepfather allegedly kept daughter in a dog crate during years of abuse
A New Jersey couple accused of locking one of their two children in a dog crate, as well as keeping both in squalid conditions and not allowing them to leave the house for seven years have each been charged with a dozen counts of abuse, according to prosecutors.
Brenda Spencer, the 38-year-old mother of the two girls who were allegedly abused, and her husband, Branndon Mosley, the girls' stepfather, are each facing 12 counts, including kidnapping, aggravated assault, abuse, criminal restraint and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Mosley, 41, has also been charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault, two counts of sexual assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child with sexual contact for the sexual abuse of the older girl.
"This is one of the most despicable cases I've ever run across," Gloucester Township Police Chief David Harkins said at a press conference Wednesday.
The older daughter, now 18, escaped the residence on May 8 and was helped by a neighbor, according to officials.
Police spoke with the girl on Thursday evening, but she did not disclose all the abuse until later, when police were called again on Saturday to report the abuse, according to officials.
On Saturday, the girl reported she had been held captive in her home for years and been subjected to multiple instances of sexual abuse by her stepfather, police said.
The 18-year-old was exposed to "the risk of serious bodily injury specifically by confining the victim to a room with restraints and subjecting her to sexual assault and physical abuse with a belt," according to a criminal complaint filed against Mosley.
She was "made to sleep in a dog crate, then while chained in a bathroom, and then in a bare room with just a bucket to use as a bathroom," according to court documents.
She has been abused since 2018 and was removed from school before entering the seventh grade, according to investigators.
The younger sister, 13, was also taken from the school at the direction of Spencer, according to officials.
Officials said the parents took advantage of the home schooling laws in New Jersey to conduct their abuse of the girls for years.
There was also a contact alarm on the door that would alert Mosley and Spencer of any attempt to leave the room, according to Harkins.
While the 18-year-old was made to live in a dog crate for a year, her hands were "bound behind her back" and she was only let out periodically. She told police she was sometimes able to escape the crate and then re-enter the crate without being caught, according to court documents.
Meanwhile, her younger sister attended school for about one more year, but was then removed from school after completing the second grade, according to court documents.
The girl "was removed from school because they were afraid she would tell someone," according to court documents.
The 18-year-old was restrained in handcuffs that caused "scars to the wrists" and sexually abused -- with some of the abuse dating back to when the victim was between the ages of 13 and 16, according to court documents.
Mosley is also accused of sexually abusing the victim "in order for her to obtain food while she was confined and restrained in the bathroom," according to court documents.
They are also accused of failing to provide sufficient medical care, food and shelter.
Spencer was not employed and Mosley worked for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority as a train conductor. They were taken into custody at their residence in Camden County, New Jersey, officials said.
Investigators are not aware of the children having left the home in any circumstances.
"Both children are safe right now," Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay said.
MacAulay said there had not been any complaints against the couple by their neighbors.
It was not immediately clear if they had a lawyer. The couple makes its first appearance in court on Friday.
