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Iowa Mother Accused Of Binding Her Three Kids' Hands And Feet To Control Them
Jessica Henderson arrested after a photograph showing three young children bound by their hand and feet made its way to authorities.
A Des Moines, Iowa, woman has been accused of binding her children by their limbs to keep them under control.
Jessica Henderson, 38, is charged with child endangerment, according to Polk County Court records.
School officials contacted police last month about a photograph taken in March that shows the children tied up on the floor of Henderson’s home.
"I thought that the kids were running around, but when she opened the door I saw them sitting on the kitchen floor, tied up crying," witness Alvin Stone told WOI-DT in Des Moines.
He said he informed his reverend of the situation, who told him to show the photo to school officials.
"I told him I needed to bring it to their attention," the Rev. Melvin Ridley told the publication. "There's no reason for any parent to treat their kids this way. Two wrongs don't make a right."
Sgt. Paul Parizek of the Des Moines Police Department said the children aged 9, 5, and 4 years were taken to a hospital but had suffered no significant injuries.
A criminal complaint claims Henderson created a substantial risk to her children’s “physical, mental, or emotional health or safety by tying them up as a means to control them.”
Henderson maintains that it wasn't her who tied up her kids; she told Des Moines station KCCI that her friend bound the children when she was in another room.
Henderson has been bonded out of jail. Her next court hearing is scheduled for Oct. 22. It is not clear if she has a lawyer who can speak on her behalf.
She calls herself a single mother of three on what appears to be her Facebook page.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
[Photo: Polk County Jail]
