Three Women Accused Of Making Girl Wear Dog Shock Collar As Punishment

Three women from New Jersey were arrested for allegedly torturing a young girl for nearly four years. Authorities said that the women put a shock collar on the girl and deprived her of food and clothing as forms of punishment when she misbehaved.

Kelly Mennig, 42, Rebecca Mennig, 22, and Rachel Mennig, 20, were taken into custody and are facing charges of aggravated assault, child abuse and neglect, and endangering the welfare of a child.

The police began investigating the abuse after the girl, who is now 13 and only identified by her initials I.D., ran to her neighbor's house for help.

"[I.D.] is standing there, and she goes, 'They're shocking me! They're shocking me!'" Karen Villec told The Daily Beast. "And she hands me this dog collar, which is like, vibrating in my hand. She lifts her head up, and I can see the marks on her neck where they were shocking her. So my husband called 911, and I was in the kitchen with [I.D.], trying to calm her down."

The girl was taken to the hospital, where she spoke with police investigators and described the years of abuse she faced.

The girl said that the women first put the shock collar on her when she was just nine. In addition, the women deprived her of food and appropriate clothing and even made her shoplift for them.

Officials did not provide information about the girl's relationship with the three women, only stating they had "a legal duty for the care" for the girl. She has since been removed from the home.