A Garrett, Indiana, family is seeking justice for a 3-year-old girl after they said she was recently put in a washing machine and dryer by her babysitter and his friends, according to a report.
The 14-year-old babysitter was watching Raelyn and her older sister on July 2 when he invited his friends over, television station WANE in Fort Wayne reported, citing DeKalb County prosecutors.
At some point, one or more of the teens allegedly put the toddler in the washing machine and then the dryer, which one of them turned on multiple times, according to the station. She sustained several bruises on her body.
Raelyn’s mother, Missy Camp, told the station she placed the toddler and her 5-year-old daughter in the care of a longtime family friend, and that the teen had babysat her daughters before.
But when Camp came home the following day, she said she discovered bruises all over the toddler’s body.
The mother also found her apartment trashed, with two toilets, a TV and a window all broken, according to the station. Food and soda cans littered the residence, and Camp said she also found the drug Xanax on the floor.
“It’s hard to explain … I’m upset, but at the same time I feel like I can’t really sit and cry and I need to keep both of my kids happy, not as depressed about it,” she said.
The 5-year-old old girl told her mother that the babysitter invited three male friends over, WANE reported. Camp said she was told by another source that the boys had been drinking.
Later, they turned on the washer and put the toddler in the machine once it was filled with water, the 5-year-old girl told her mother, according to Camp. Raelyn was then placed in the dryer.
Camp took the 3-year-old to a doctor, who told her there were possible signs of sexual abuse on her body. She was being tested by child services for rape, according to the WANE.
The babysitter told Camp that her daughter had been injured when she fell off a merry-go-round at a local park, Camp said.
Since the incident, Raelyn has not been acting the same, according to Camp.
“She’s quiet,” Camp told the station. “Usually she’s very hyper, running around, going crazy and all that but lately she just kind of wants to sit on the couch and cuddle. She doesn’t eat as much.”
Missy Camp’s sister, Madison Camp, posted photos to Raelyn on Facebook with the hashtag #JusticeForRaelyn. The post was widely shared on social media.
“My first goal is to just get one to break down and just kind of admit or say who did it and from there press charges and hopefully they get what they deserve,” Missy Camp said.
A GoFundMe page was also set up to seek Justice for Raelyn, although an update on Thursday stated the account was no longer accepting donations.
The woman who started the page, Casandra Hooker, said the family was told they could not press charges because of the boys’ ages.
“I am heart broken, and these boys deserve to get punished,” Hooker wrote. “Please help the family and I fight this case. Raelyn needs to have justice. To think she is going to scarred for life from this situation.”
The Garrett Police Department told the television station last week that one juvenile was detained, and that multiple agencies are investigating the case.