Insets from left to right: Gina Sagona and Mark Sagona (Ascension Parish Sheriff”s Office). Background: The Ascension Parish Jail in Donaldsonville, Louisiana (Google Maps).
A couple in Louisiana were placed behind bars after the woman dragged a 14-year-old boy through dog urine and the man did not do anything about it, authorities say.
Gina Sagona, 44, has been charged with cruelty to a juvenile, the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office announced this week.
Mark Sagona, 45, was charged with principal to cruelty to a juvenile.
On Monday, law enforcement responded to a home in Ascension Parish after a report from the area Department of Children and Family Services detailed “a child abuse incident” there involving a 14-year-old boy. Ascension Parish is located between Baton Rouge and New Orleans in the center of the state.
Detectives say that during their investigation, they “reviewed home video footage showing Gina Sagona force the juvenile face down into dog urine and then drag him through it.” The sheriff’s office added that the teenager “was also struck multiple times.”
Mark Sagona was allegedly “present during portions of the incident.”
When investigators interviewed Gina Sagona, she reportedly “admitted to the abuse.” She and Mark Sagona were arrested and booked into the Ascension Parish Jail in Donaldsonville, Louisiana.
Authorities stressed that the investigation was ongoing. The relationship between the defendants and the teen is unclear.
Jail records show both defendants were booked into the jail on Monday and are still in custody. Gina Sagona is being held on a $50,000 bond while Mark Sagona is being held on a $40,000 bond.
They are both awaiting an arraignment in court, the records add.
