An Ohio father was arrested after police found his 13-year-old daughter hogtied with zip ties and covered in scrapes and bruises in a parking lot. The police were called after bystanders heard the young girl calling for help. Witnesses told the responding officers they saw a man, identified as 39-year-old John Hofacker, dragging her across the parking lot toward an abandoned building.
New London Police Lieutenant Joseph Hicks found the girl unable to move because the zip ties were so tight and were cutting off her circulation.
“The restraints were so tight they were cutting off circulation,” said Lt. Hicks. “She basically could not stand up or move if she wanted to.”
The girl was taken to Fisher Titus Medical Center where doctors discovered more signs of abuse.
Lt. Hicks said that Hofacker explained that he was trying to stop his daughter from running away and that he was about to call the police himself.
“I tied her up. She was trying to run away. I tied her up and I was about to call you.”
New London Police Chief Mike Marko told the Norwalk Reflector that what her father did was "not discipline; that’s torture.”
“I can’t think of any reason you would have to discipline a child like that,” the chief said. “That’s not discipline; that’s torture.”
Hofacker was taken into custody and was charged with unlawful restraint and Chief Marko said that more charges are pending. Hofacker was released on bond and his daughter was placed into protective custody.