WEATHERFORD, OK -- An Oklahoma toddler is hospitalized after police say she was tortured. Authorities say the child's mother allowed it to happen. Police say the woman's boyfriend beat the little girl for several weeks. The woman told police she didn't stop the abuse because she didn't want her boyfriend to leave her. Her boyfriend told police he beat the little girl because the child wouldn't listen and on another occasion because he was mad at a neighbor.
A small child's toy sits empty, much like the apartment just feet away; the couple who live there is behind bars.
Twenty-two year old Gabrielle Silcott and her boyfriend, 28-year-old Jason Ferguson, are in the Custer County jail.
Silcott's 22-month-old daughter is in the hospital after police say Ferguson physically tortured the little girl as her mother sat by and watched.
"This baby's endured a lot. I would venture to say for the last 3 weeks he has tortured this child. We're very fortunate the child is still alive," Weatherford Police Captain Todd Doyals said. "There was a brief moment of intervention that I believe saved this child's life."
That intervention authorities say was when Ferguson performed CPR on the toddler when she quit breathing in the early morning hours of last Friday.
That's when Silcott called her family for help and then her family called police.
"When we got there, she opened the door," Doyals said. "One of the first statements she made to us was 'He's in there. Get him.'"
Officers found Ferguson hiding in the little girl's closet.
He was arrested on several abuse charges.
Silcott was later questioned at the hospital and then taken into custody for enabling the torture; her daughter is still struggling to overcome the abuse.
"There was some bleeding on the brain and a lot of extensive bruising, head-to-toe bruising, finger tip to finger tip, back and front," Doyals said.
Both Ferguson and Silcott were formally charged Monday.
Because the toddler is in DHS custody, NewsChannel 4 was unable to get an update on her condition.
Authorities say Ferguson could face more charges.
A small child's toy sits empty, much like the apartment just feet away; the couple who live there is behind bars.
Twenty-two year old Gabrielle Silcott and her boyfriend, 28-year-old Jason Ferguson, are in the Custer County jail.
Silcott's 22-month-old daughter is in the hospital after police say Ferguson physically tortured the little girl as her mother sat by and watched.
"This baby's endured a lot. I would venture to say for the last 3 weeks he has tortured this child. We're very fortunate the child is still alive," Weatherford Police Captain Todd Doyals said. "There was a brief moment of intervention that I believe saved this child's life."
That intervention authorities say was when Ferguson performed CPR on the toddler when she quit breathing in the early morning hours of last Friday.
That's when Silcott called her family for help and then her family called police.
"When we got there, she opened the door," Doyals said. "One of the first statements she made to us was 'He's in there. Get him.'"
Officers found Ferguson hiding in the little girl's closet.
He was arrested on several abuse charges.
Silcott was later questioned at the hospital and then taken into custody for enabling the torture; her daughter is still struggling to overcome the abuse.
"There was some bleeding on the brain and a lot of extensive bruising, head-to-toe bruising, finger tip to finger tip, back and front," Doyals said.
Both Ferguson and Silcott were formally charged Monday.
Because the toddler is in DHS custody, NewsChannel 4 was unable to get an update on her condition.
Authorities say Ferguson could face more charges.
