A Pennsylvania man has been charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault after allegedly burying his six-year-old daughter in a hole in their backyard and leaving her there overnight.

KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh reported that police arrested John Kraft of Waynesburg, Pennsylvania after investigators interviewed his daughter and her sibling two weeks ago. Kraft is currently in jail.

In an interview with police officers, Kraft’s daughter said her father would bury her in a hole in the yard when he thought she was lying. After she was allegedly buried and left overnight, the girl was left smelling like sewage.

The girl and her sibling reported a range of other alleged abusive behavior by Mr. Kraft, some of which had been documented by area social workers. Last month, social workers in Greene County found severe bruising on the girl’s face and body. Police found evidence of both old and new bruising, and also heard allegations that Kraft choked the girl until she blacked out and beat her with his belt and his arm, which has a metal rod in it from a surgery.

Kraft, who is now charged with multiple accounts of aggravated assault along with simple assault, reckless endangerment, false imprisonment of a minor, strangulation, and endangering the welfare of children, was unable to post bond after being arrested. The children have been placed in foster care.

“The allegations are that this child was beaten brutally, that the child had bruises all over her body, that she was choked to the point that she had passed out,” Greene County District Attorney David Russo told KDKA-TV. “She was buried in a hole as punishment. She was thrown in a hole overnight. Her head was slammed off the wall and slammed off the floor. This is a barbaric situation.”

Original Article