A couple from Texas punished their two young daughters by beating them and forcing one to eat cat feces before brushing her teeth with it, authorities said.
James and Cheyanne Chalkley allegedly beat their two young daughters, smeared their faces with “wet diarrhea,” and even made one of them wear a shock collar, authorities said.
James Chalkley, 32, and Cheyanne Chalkley, 22, have been arrested and charged with injury to a child. They are in custody at the Bexar County Adult Detention Center.
Authorities were notified on Sept. 19, when the 5-year-old girl’s school teacher noticed bruising on her back while the child was reaching out for a box of colors according to reports.
At first, the girl told the school nurse that she did not know how she got injured but later said that she fell at the playground.
The two sisters reportedly described to officials and their foster parent the alleged abuse they endured at the hands of their father, James, and stepmother, Cheyanne.
Both girls said that their father and stepmother would often beat and spank them with belts and switches, according to the arrest affidavit. The 10-year-old girl said that her father had shoved her head into a wall as her stepmother used a “switch” with thorns to strike her.
Image credit: Facebook
The 5-year-old child told authorities that the two parents would “take turns” spanking her. She also mentioned that James Chalkley used a shock collar — like the one used on dogs — on her arms, legs, and back, which left “green marks” on her skin, the affidavit states.
The girl also described an incident in which James Chalkley held her head in the toilet. He reportedly flushed her head, and then did the same to her 5-year-old sister.
Image credit: Facebook
Both children told their foster mother that James Chalkley once found cat feces in a closet. He thought that they had intentionally refused to clean it, according to the affidavit. The father then smeared the “wet diarrhea” on their faces, made his 5-year-old daughter eat it, and then ordered the two girls to take a shower, the affidavit states.
The 5-year-old girl also noted that he put “poop” on her toothbrush and brushed her teeth so hard that he caused her to bleed.
The two girls told their foster mother that Cheyanne Chalkley was often around when their father was beating them and that she also hit them with “switches” taken from a lemon tree in their backyard, as well as with sticks and thorns.
When their father asked Cheyanne if he was too hard on the kids, she responded that if they were her kids, she would hit them more. This is what the 10-year-old told her foster mother.
CPS previously encountered James Chalkley in 2016 when he left his children unsupervised, as well as in January, when he sprayed his naked children with cold water outside the home on a day when temperatures dropped to 45 degrees, the affidavit said. That case was closed as “high risk.”
The child and her 10-year-old sister later told an investigator that their father, James Chalkley, spanked them whenever they misbehaved, but because they bruised easily, Child Protective Services (CPS) wanted to get their father into trouble and “break up their family.”
CPS then reportedly removed the two girls and their 3-year-old brother from the Chalkley’s home.
Facebook pages that belonged to James and Cheyanne Chalkley display pictures of the family smiling together, as well as Cheyanne posing with the 3-year-old toddler. It’s sad to know the reality behind those pictures.