Girl Forced To Eat Cat Food, Drink Detergent By Stepfather: DA

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA— A Gwinnett County man and his wife have been indicted in what prosecutors are calling one of the worst cases of child abuse they've ever seen. Rimmon Lewis and his wife, Angela Strothers, of Norcross, are charged with beating, starving and mentally damaging a 13-year-old girl, WSB-TV reports.

Prosecutors say Strothers did not necessarily take part in the abuse, but knew about it and would report to Lewis when the child broke his rules. The girl is now in state custody.

According to court documents, Lewis was the main culprit. Among the acts of abuse, he reportedly forced the girl to eat cat food and made her stand barefoot on tin cans while writing things like "I will respect my father" 1,000 times.

She was locked up in a laundry room for so long that she urinated and defecated on herself and was once made to swallow detergent, according to the charges. The abuse happened on almost a daily basis, Assistant District Attorney Tracie Cason told WSB.

The girl also was frequently beaten and starved, and, in an effort to make her stop stuttering, Lewis would force his thumbs into her mouth so hard it split the corners of her mouth, according to the indictments. She was forced to take baths in extremely hot or cold water and either peroxide or lemon juice was added to it, they say.

"It's amazing to me how this child survived as long as she did," Cason said to WSB.

Counselors at the girl's school reportedly got concerned when she showed up with bruises and called police earlier this year.

In 2014, Lewis pleaded guilty to abuse involving the same girl. He was given credit for time served when he pleaded and put on probation. He has now been sentenced to five years in that case for violating his probation.

Lewis is now charged with 15 counts of first-degree cruelty to children, four counts of aggravated battery and one count of aggravated stalking. Strothers was indicted on four counts of cruelty to children and one count of aggravated stalking.

To read the original report from WSB-TV, click here.

Photo via Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office