Police: Phoenix girl beaten, locked in bathroom for 2 months for stealing food

Police: Phoenix girl kept in bathroom for 2 months

PHOENIX — A malnourished Phoenix girl was locked in a bathroom without running water for two months, beaten with metal rods, and forced to exercise until exhaustion because her father said she had stolen food and cheated on a home-school test, police said Wednesday.

Scott and Andrea Bass, the 14-year-old girl’s father and stepmother, were arrested Feb. 4 for investigation of child abuse, kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.

“No one on this earth needs to be treated the way this child was treated,” Phoenix police Officer Luis Samudio said.

Andrea Bass, 31, who was released from custody Tuesday after posting a $36,000 bond, did not immediately return a message left at her home Wednesday morning. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request Wednesday to interview Scott Bass, 33, who remained jailed on a $45,000 bond.

The girl escaped from the bathroom through the attic on Feb. 4 and rode her bike to a nearby movie theater, where a concerned couple gave her $50. She then rode about 13 miles to a Phoenix strip mall and bought water, food, a backpack and clothes because she hadn’t been allowed to change for weeks, Samudio said.

The girl then rode to a coffee shop in Scottsdale, where she asked an employee to call police.

Samudio said when police arrived at the girl’s home to interview Scott Bass, he thought the girl was still in the bathroom and was “visibly surprised” when he unlocked the door and she was gone.

Inside the bathroom, police found a 5-gallon bucket containing human waste and a blanket on the floor that served as the girl’s bed, according to a probable-cause statement released Wednesday.

Scott Bass told investigators that he locked his daughter in the bathroom because she stole food from the kitchen and cheated on a home-school test, according to the document.

The document said Andrea Bass said she didn’t know that the girl was locked in the bathroom.

The girl told police that her father gave her cans of food, crackers or bread every one to two days, but that she was constantly hungry. A medical evaluation of the girl showed she was in the 25th percentile for weight and the 50th percentile for height among girls her age.

The girl said her father forced her to exercise until she was exhausted and beat her with belts and metal rods or pulled her up by her hair if she stopped the exercises.

The girl also told police that in a previous home, her father and stepmother forced her to sleep on an outdoor patio for five months, locked her in a closet for a week, and locked her in a bathroom for a week.

The girl, who was evaluated and released from a hospital, was in the custody of Child Protective Services. Four other children living in the home, who police said showed no signs of abuse or similar treatment, also were in CPS custody.

Samudio said the girl and her 12-year-old brother were from Scott Bass’ previous marriage, and that three girls ages 3, 4 and 11 were Scott and Andrea Bass’ children.