A Starkville woman faces one count of child deprivation after she allegedly locked a 4-year-old out of a Briarwick Drive home Wednesday, court records state.
Victoria Jones, 40, was arrested after concerned residents called the police department after hearing a child crying, “begging to be let inside,” affidavits state.
The child was locked “outside in the cold, soaking wet, for around an hour … on a tall stool, in the dark, with a dog she said had bitten her before,” the documents say.
When police made contact with the child, the affidavit states, she was “shivering and begging to be let inside.”
Child deprivation of necessaries with substantial harm is a felony charge that can carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of not more than $20,000 or both.
She was taken to Oktibbeha County Jail. Her bond was set at $5,000.
The Starkville Police Department released no additional information on the incident.
Anyone with information about this or any other incident is asked to call SPD at 662-323-4131 or the Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers at 800-530-7151.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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