Woman allegedly accuses 15-year-old girl of sexual abuse, tortures her and sets her on fire: police

Latonya Harris and her boyfriend face several charges, including attempted murder

Content warning: This article contains disturbing allegations of child sexual abuse.

A Louisiana woman was arrested along with her boyfriend for allegedly brutally torturing a young girl in their care after learning that her boyfriend had sexually abused the child.

Latonya Harris, 40, and her boyfriend, 41-year-old Terrence Washington, are in custody in connection with the alleged April incident and its aftermath, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office announced this week, according to FOX 26, WVUE and WDSU.

Authorities in Baytown, Texas, notified Terrebonne authorities on April 21 of an accident in their jurisdiction involving the couple, the Terrebonne Parish sheriff said in a statement, according to FOX 21 and WDSU.

Baytown police found the couple, the 15-year-old alleged victim and another minor in the car, the sheriff said, adding that the teenager had serious injuries, including burns to her upper body and gunshot wounds to her chest and face, according to media reports.

A Baytown investigator said the case was “the worst she’s seen in her entire career,” according to WVUE.

According to the sheriff, Washington was taken into custody while Harris and the child were taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Washington allegedly told Baytown police that he shot the teenager in her home in Thibodaux, Louisiana, and sexually abused her for months, the sheriff said, according to FOX 26, WVUE and WDSU.

The younger child, who is 10 years old according to WVUE, reportedly told authorities that she woke up one night in February to find the teen on fire and the woman standing over the alleged victim’s bed with rubbing alcohol and a lighter, according to media outlets.

According to media reports, the sheriff claimed that Washington told authorities that Harris allegedly committed the assaults after learning that her boyfriend had sexually abused the teenager and she blamed the minor for it.

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Harris was arrested on May 9 after being released from the hospital. He faces several charges including attempted premeditated murder, second-degree cruelty to a juvenile and domestic violence endangerment of a child, the sheriff said, according to FOX 26 and WVUE.

The charges against Washington include attempted premeditated murder, second-degree cruelty to a juvenile, obstruction of justice, sexual abuse of a juvenile, three counts of indecent conduct with a juvenile and five counts of second-degree rape, authorities said, WDSU reported.

According to WVUE and FOX 26, Washington is currently in custody in connection with the crimes he is charged with in Texas, but will be taken into custody by Terrebonne Parish authorities upon his release.

It was not immediately clear whether Washington or Harris had filed a confession or hired lawyers.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in more than 170 languages.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

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