Grand jury indicts custodial dad accused of binding, caging daughter (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Read this carefully. Seems JAMES TAPKE is a custodial dad. Though you don't see confirmation of that till the last paragraph when you read that Daddy has been stripped of his legal rights to his daughter, and custody has been handed over to....his parents. Oh, right. The same people who raised this torture freak. What happpened to the mother? Who knows? It's not reported here. These days, moms are always erased from stories like this with no comment whatsoever.

INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT

http://www.wlwt.com/r/30316277/detail.html

Grand Jury Indicts Man Accused Of Binding Daughter
Girl Bound With Duct Tape, Placed In Cage

POSTED: 1:04 pm EST January 27, 2012

CINCINNATI -- A grand jury indicted a man accused of binding his daughter with duct tape and locking her in a dog cage.

James Tapke, 41, was indicted Friday on one count of unlawful restraint, a charge that carries a possible 60-day jail term.

Tapke was accused of restraining his 12-year-old daughter's hands and feet Jan. 10 using a duct tape before placing her in a dog cage. Then, investigators said, while his daughter was in the cage, Tapke dropped small amounts of water on her face.

"While the initial allegations were shocking, I think that the grand jury made the correct call," said Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters. "This definitely does not rise to the level of a felony. Fortunately, the victim was not injured. Referrals have been given to the family to help with the family dynamics that gave rise to this situation."

According to court papers, the girl was in the cage for about 20 minutes before her 13-year-old brother let her out. When she got out, authorities said the victim poured water on her father's head and in his ear.

Tapke then bound his daughter again with duct tape and put her back in the dog cage, investigators said, and while she was in the cage, Tapke told his son to go to the garage and retrieve an electrical jump pack so he could electrify the cage. The girl's brother brought the jump pack and sat in front of the cage so his sister could see it, investigators said.

Tapke never attempted to electrify the cage, but investigators said he told his daughter several times he should.

Tapke let the girl out of the cage, and her grandmother assisted her with taking off the duct tape, authorities said. During the entire incident, authorities said the girl's brother and her father took pictures of her in the cage.

Her brother posted the pictures on Facebook, investigators said, but the pictures have already been deleted.

The girl was sent to live with her maternal grandparents in Springfield Township, and prosecutors said Tapke's legal rights to the child were stripped and turned over to his parents.