Prosecutors: Girl Was Kept in Closet for Years

ByABC News
June 26, 2001, 12:58 PM

D A L L A S, June 26 -- The 8-year-old girl who was locked in a closet andseverely malnourished was kept in the confined space for fouryears, not four months as originally thought, a prosecutor testified during a custody hearingtoday.

Assistant District Attorney Michael Lunden said that the girl was kept in a "closet, attic or small room" since 1997.Also, the girl's five siblings were told to lie about her existence, he said.

Judge Cheryl Lee Shannon was expected to decide whether hersiblings should be placed with relatives or left in foster homesunder the custody of Child Protective Services.

The 8-year-old was locked in a closet and weighed only 25 pounds whenshe was rescued earlier this month from her home in Hutchins,located south of Dallas. The girl is hospitalized at Children'sMedical Center in Dallas.

Kept in a Filthy Closet; Evidence of Sexual Abuse

Authorities said she was imprisoned in a urine- andfeces-contaminated closet. Police also areinvestigating evidence that the girl was sexually abused.

Her mother, Barbara Atkinson, and the girl's stepfather, Kenneth Ray Atkinson,were arrested last week on charges of injury to a child, a felonythat carries a prison term from five to 99 years.

Both remain at the Dallas County Jail. Barbara Atkinson was being held inlieu of $100,000 bond. Police said her husband facescharges of probation violation in Ellis County and would not bereleased on bond.

Kenneth Atkinson attended today's hearing, wearing white jailoveralls. He answered a few questions, saying little and assertinghis Fifth Amendment rights. He was returned to the Dallas Countyjail shortly afterward.

Bill and Sabrina Kavanaugh of Canton, who tried to adopt the girlwhen she was born but lost custody when the birth mother changedher mind and wanted the baby back, asked for a home study from CPSas part of their attempts to seek custody of the girl.

Several dozen relatives of the Kavanaughs attended the hearing.Most wore buttons with a photo of the girl chubby-cheeked and smilingon her first birthday.