Ohio dad indicted on misdemeanor in alleged caging of daughter
CINCINNATI (AP) — A misdemeanor indictment has been returned against a Cincinnati-area man accused of restraining his 12-year-old daughter with duct tape, putting her in a dog cage and threatening to electrify it.
A statement from the Hamilton County prosecutor’s office says the girl spent “a matter of minutes” in the cage and that the misdemeanor charge against James Tapke is appropriate. It says the girl often voluntarily entered the cage to be with the family’s bull mastiff.
Tapke, of Springfield Township, was indicted on a count of unlawful restraint, carrying a penalty of up to 60 days in jail. His attorney has said he claims it was a joke that got out of hand.
The girl was not injured. She lives with her paternal grandparents, and Tapke has no custody rights.