Left to right: Kayla Smith, Brian Smith (Fayette County Detention Center).
A man and woman in Kentucky abused their children for more than two years by locking them in dog cages and burning them with cigarettes, authorities say.
Kayla Smith and Brian Smith, both 32, are in the Fayette County Detention Center on six counts of first-degree criminal abuse of a child age 12 or under, jail records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Both defendants signed guilty plea offers to the indictments against them, Lexington Fox affiliate WDKY reported.
The case began on Jan. 30, when child service workers received a report of abuse. Two children placed into foster care claimed that their parents had placed them in a dog cage or locked them in a room for hours or days without food as punishment.
The kids also reportedly stated that the defendants would burn them with lit cigarettes on multiple occasions. An investigator with the Lexington Metro Police Department spoke with the victims and saw scars on them apparently from the burns.
One child told investigators that he would fall asleep in the dog cage “to pass the time,” per court documents obtained by area CBS and The CW affiliate WKYT. He said he would be let out of the cage to use the bathroom but then immediately placed back inside when he was done.
Authorities said the abuse lasted for about 2 1/2 years. Jail records state Kayla Smith was arrested on Feb. 3 and Brian Smith was arrested the following day.
The plea offers were made to the defendants on May 27, according to WDKY.
Law&Crime reached out to the Fayette County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office for more information on the status of the cases.
Another status hearing in the defendants’ cases has been set for Aug. 28. Brian Smith and Kayla Smith remain in the Fayette County Detention Center on $75,000 bond each.
