Authorities say a Kentucky man and woman abused their children for over two years, locking them in dog cages and burning them with cigarettes.
Kayla Smith and Brian Smith, both 32, sit in the Fayette County Detention Center facing six counts of first-degree criminal abuse of a child age 12 or under, jail records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Both defendants signed guilty plea offers to the indictments against them, Lexington Fox affiliate WDKY reported.
The case began Jan. 30, when child service workers received a report of abuse. Two children placed into foster care claimed their parents had locked them in a dog cage or confined them to a room for hours or days without food as punishment.
The kids also reportedly said the defendants burned them with lit cigarettes on multiple occasions. An investigator with the Lexington Metro Police Department spoke with the victims and observed scars on them apparently from the burns.
One child told investigators he would fall asleep in the dog cage “to pass the time,” per court documents obtained by area CBS and The CW affiliate WKYT. He said he would be let out of the cage to use the bathroom but then immediately placed back inside when he finished.
Authorities said the abuse went on for about 2 1/2 years. Jail records state Kayla Smith was arrested Feb. 3, and Brian Smith was arrested the following day.
The defendants received the plea offers on May 27, according to WDKY.
Law&Crime reached out to the Fayette County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office for more information on the status of the cases.
The defendants’ next status hearing is set for Aug. 28. Brian Smith and Kayla Smith remain in the Fayette County Detention Center, each held on $75,000 bond.
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