Photo of duct taped toddler surfaces; mother charged

February 17th, 2011 by Jessica | Permalink

Caira Ferguson, mother accused of duct taping toddler to chair. Photo via NBC News screenshot.

Caira Ferguson, 21, of Nether Providence Township, Pennsylvania is being charged with child neglect. Caira is accused of allegedly duct taping her 2 year old toddler daughter to a chair. The photo which was on Caira’s cell phone, shows her toddler bound and gagged along with Caira standing beside her – posing for the picture. Police found further evidence when they obtained a search warrant and found duct tape still attached to the chair where Caira lives. 

 

Oddly enough, police were first alerted to the picture when Caira herself went into the police station to report that her identity had been stolen. According to CNN, police believe that she concocted the story in order pin the blame on someone else and possibly cover up other crimes under the guise of stolen identity.
Caira’s father, Ira Ferguson is denying the charges saying that his daughter would never do something like this and claims that she hasn’t confessed although police have claimed otherwise. The Grandmother who was reportedly home at the time of the incident have subsequently placed other children in her care in state custody.

This is the second incidence of this kind of abuse. Last fall, a couple was charged with doing the same thing to their toddler son leaving people to speculate whether or not this was a copy-cat crime.