Cops in Florida arrested the final of four suspects who allegedly tortured a young girl for years by striking her toes with a hammer, forcing her to kneel on rice and stay in a closet over several days.
Denaria Graham, 24, was arrested on Wednesday. She faces charges of aggravated child abuse, child neglect and failure to report child abuse.
Latricia Crawley, 49, Benjamin Lockett, 46, and Shankyria Clayton, 23, face the same charges and were arrested in 2023.
Crawley and Lockett, who are the girl’s aunt and uncle and served as her legal guardians, appeared to dole out the most abuse, a probable cause arrest affidavit said.
The case began in October 2023 when the girl messaged her online teacher asking for help and requesting that police be sent to her Margate home, just north of Fort Lauderdale.
Police arrived at the home and found the then-15-year-old girl bleeding from her head. She told officers that Lockett had punched her in the face, causing her to fall backward and hit her head on the corner of a desk.
She was taken to the hospital for treatment.
However, officers discovered that the head wound was far from her only injury. They observed “significant long-term trauma to the victim’s body,” including ligature marks, bruises, insect bite marks and “general signs and symptoms of malnutrition.”
Investigators interviewed the girl, who revealed horrific details about her life over the previous four years.
She said Crawley and Lockett became her legal guardians in 2014, and police said the abuse began almost immediately.
The girl told investigators that Crawley and Lockett would restrain her with zip ties and force her to remain in closets for long periods, giving her only a bucket to use as a bathroom.
Lockett allegedly kicked her in the chin in 2019, leaving a “noticeable permanent scar.” Two years later, when the girl was 13, Crawley allegedly oiled the girl’s knees and forced her to kneel on rice for several hours at a time over several days. Police said the punishment caused scar tissue that remained on the victim.
That same year, Crawley allegedly tied her niece to a “fixed object and struck her toes with a hammer.”
When the girl was 14, Crawley and Lockett allegedly restrained her on numerous occasions, leaving ligature marks on her stomach, shoulders and wrists. Crawley also allegedly threw a pot of boiling water on her.
Other punishments included taping the girl’s eyes shut and dunking her in cold water, according to the affidavit. The defendants also allegedly threw cold water on her while she was sleeping “just to see her wake up,” cops wrote.
Graham and Clayton are accused of knowing about the abuse but failing to report it or do anything to stop it. Clayton is the girl’s sister, while Graham is her cousin.
All four suspects lived in the same home. Another woman, 32-year-old Treaunshae Gibbons, was also arrested. She is related to the victim, lived at the home for a time and worked for a child abuse prevention agency. Authorities allege that she also never reported the abuse despite knowing about it.
Child protective services took custody of the girl.
Graham remains in the Broward County Jail, while the other suspects remain free on bond. Their next court dates are set for Sept. 14.
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