NEW YORK (AP) — A girl was subjected to unspeakable abuse, including severe beatings and starvation, at the hands of her father and stepmother, prosecutors said Tuesday as they announced charges against the couple.
Rajesh Ranot, 46, and his wife, Sheetal Ranot, of Ozone Park, face multiple counts of assault and child endangerment.
The alleged abuse occurred between December 2012 and last month, according to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown and Gladys Carrion, commissioner of the Administration for Children’s Services.
The girl was locked in her bedroom without food and water for extended periods, kicked in the face, hit with a baseball bat and forced to take cold showers while being struck, authorities said.
A blow with a broken metal broom handle cut her wrist down to the bone, they said. Medical personnel found her lying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor and took her to a hospital, where she underwent surgery.
She was taken to a hospital another time, after being struck with a rolling pin, wearing dirty clothes and weighing 58 pounds, authorities said.
The attorney for Rajesh Ranot did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The name of his wife’s attorney was not available.
The girl, who is now 12, was removed from the home along with her siblings, Carrion said.
“For a long time, this emaciated child was fearful of disclosing the true nature of her injuries or those responsible for her suffering for fear that her younger stepsiblings would be taken away by authorities and placed in foster care,” Brown said. “Fortunately, she found the courage to speak up.”
