Mother of 32-pound girl, 10, to be arraigned


June 25, 2012 at 2:12p.m.

Mother of 32-pound girl, 10, to be arraigned

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City woman is scheduled to appear in court after police found her 10-year-old daughter weighing just 32 pounds and locked in a closet that reeked of urine.

Police freed the child Friday in response to a call from a child abuse hotline. The child has been hospitalized, but her condition hasn’t been released.

The Jackson County prosecutor’s office says the 29-year-old mother is scheduled to be arraigned today on charges of assault, child abuse and endangerment. It’s unclear if she has a lawyer.

The Associated Press is not naming the mother to protect the child’s identity.

A probable cause statement says the mother told police she didn’t let the girl leave the house because the child is malnourished and that she would “get in trouble if someone saw her.”