A young Ohio girl's email led law enforcement officials to a web of child abuse and violence happening in a small town just two hours away from Cincinnati.
Scioto County Police told the Associated Press that the mother, grandmother and stepfather of three Wheelersburg girls and one boy reportedly beat the children, sometimes tying them to their beds as a form of punishment.
The older family members would frequently leave the children trapped in their rooms for weeks at a time.
All the children were homeschooled.
The 44-year-old stepfather has received additional charges, AP reported. He's been accused of raping the two girls, who are 9 and 11 years old. He also beat and abused their 8-year-old brother, police said.
He was the biological father of a 2-year-old girl living in the home.
All parties involved have remained unidentified to protect the children, AP reported.
A representative from the Scioto County Sheriff's Office said officials first heard word of the alleged violence after one of the girls living in the home sent an email to a teacher at her online school for help.
Law enforcement officials also wagered the four children were undernourished; they were sometimes denied food as a disciplinary action.
