"Jane" DUESING-CHRISTENSEN - 5 yo - Columbus OH

A woman trying to control her 5-year-old
daughter's tantrums is accused of repeatedly tying up the child,
starving her and drugging her to calm her down.


Heidi L. Duesing-Christensen, 30, of Columbus, was charged
Monday with child enticement, child abuse, child neglect,
second-degree reckless endangerment and bail jumping, all felonies.
Her attorney, listed in court records as Elizabeth Mitchel, didn't
immediately return a message Tuesday.


Duesing-Christensen's daughter has attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder, according to a search warrant affidavit.


Earlier this month, Duesing-Christensen sent the girl to visit
her father, Christ Christensen, in Tucson, Ariz. She told him the
girl wasn't sleeping and was throwing tantrums, according to the
criminal complaint.


On Nov. 6 Duesing-Christensen sent Christ Christensen a text
message saying she had given the girl two adult doses of Benadryl
to put her to sleep but she was still up screaming, beating on her
door and thrashing around.


"Enough med to knock 2 adults out," the message said. "It's
been 3 wks now. Nonstop. Cant take another minute of this."


After his daughter arrived in Tucson, her father noticed bruises
all over her body and took her to the hospital. Medical reports
indicate she weighed 29 pounds and had multiple bruises on her
arms, legs and back as well as scabs on her wrists and ankles, the
complaint said.


The girl said her mother and stepfather tied her up with tape
and rope. She said her feet, mouth, head and back were taped when
she screamed and banged on the door, the complaint said.


Her 12-year-old stepsister told police her mother sent the girl
to bed without food in an attempt to control her. The 5-year-old
would spend all day locked in her room, going for hours without a
bathroom break, the stepsister said, according to the complaint.


Police found a padlock on the girl's bedroom door.


During a call between Christensen and Duesing-Christensen that
police recorded Nov. 11, Duesing-Christensen said she had to "pin
that kid down," the search warrant affidavit said. She also told
police she gave the girl Benadryl to calm her a few days before the
girl went to Tucson and that she locked her in her room when she
had a tantrum, the complaint said.


Columbus Police Lt. Dennis Weiner said it's unclear how often
the girl was restrained, saying she's been reluctant to talk.
According to court documents, the first time Tucson police tried to
interview her she pulled her dress over her head.


He said more arrests are likely.


The girl remains with her father, Weiner said. The 12-year-old
and the girl's 3-year-old sister have been placed in foster care.


The bail-jumping charge stems from a pending theft count against
Duesing-Christensen in Racine. She signed a signature bond in that
case that prohibited her from committing any crimes.


She posted a $2,000 bond in Columbia County on Monday, Weiner
said. She's due back in court in January.