Girl, 3, Found Bound in Closet; Mother Arrested

A Hyde Park woman who allegedly bound and gagged her 3-year-old daughter and was holding her in a closet was arrested Monday after the father rescued the child, police said. A 2-year-old girl was also removed from the woman’s custody by police. Both children were taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and were in stable condition.

The woman, whose name was not released, was booked on child abuse charges, Los Angeles Police Lt. Joe Ramm said. The father of the two children returned home after a stint in County Jail to discover the daughter, emaciated, tied up and being held in a closet, Ramm said. He removed the girl and called police.

Ramm said the mother was crying when she was brought in to the police station for booking and appeared distraught and “very stressed out.” It was not known how long the father had been jailed before returning to the family’s home on Monday.