Wednesday, April 25, 2012
CINCINNATI (AP) — A man accused of duct-taping his 12-year-old daughter, putting her in a dog cage and threatening to electrify it has pleaded guilty to attempted unlawful restraint in southwest Ohio.
A court official in Cincinnati says 41-year-old James Tapke of Springfield Township was sentenced to 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to the misdemeanor charge Tuesday.
Authorities said he shut his daughter in the cage Jan. 10 as punishment after restraining her hands and feet with the duct tape.
The prosecutor’s office has said the girl spent only minutes in the cage and was not injured.
Tapke’s attorney said Tapke claimed it was a joke that got out of hand.
The girl lives with her paternal grandparents and Tapke has no custody rights.