Byrnes Mill, Mo., man charged with forcing girl to sleep in dog crate

BYRNES MILL, Mo. -- An eastern Missouri man is charged with forcing his daughter to sleep in a dog crate and hitting her.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported 57-year-old Gregory Byrd of Byrnes Mill was charged Tuesday in Jefferson County with felony child endangerment and two counts of misdemeanor assault. Byrd declined to comment to the Post-Dispatch. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

Court documents don't give the daughter's age, but she told police she was locked up during a school homecoming weekend last year. She told authorities she'd been abused since seventh grade.

Investigators said Byrd admitted to forcing her to sleep in the crate several times "as punishment and to make sure she did not leave the house at night." She's been removed from the home.

Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com

Pertinent address:

Byrnes Mill, Mo.