Nigerian Couple Lock Daughter Up With Chain And Force Her To Use Bucket As Bathroom

Nigerian couple, Titus Chidi Ebubechukwu, 48, and Mary Nkiruka Ebubechukwu, 52, pleaded not guilty to child abuse and false imprisonment charges Thursday, for allegedly forcing their children to live in squalid conditions, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.

Titus, a school teacher and Mary, a nurse, were charged with child abuse and false imprisonment by violence after police said the couple used a chain to lock up their 10-year-old daughter and gave her a bucket to use as a bathroom.

According to District Attorney Theodore Swanson, an investigation was launched earlier this month on the couple - who reside in Lancaster, California, - after their 4-year-old son was found walking by himself several blocks away from their home.

The child was found by a neighbor who called the police and said that the child appeared disoriented and was wearing over-sized shoes.

When the police got to the home of the Ebubechukwu's, they found their 10-year-old daughter, locked up in a room with chain from the outside. However, the parents were not home at the time.

“There was a bucket in the room that the girl had to use when she needed to go to the bathroom,” Swanson said.

The police quickly took the kids (the 10-year-old and the 4-year-old as well as their two other siblings who are ages 9 and 6) into protective custody.

The neighbors identified the family as Nigerians and who have lived in that home for nine year.

The couple has been scheduled to report in court on June 9. If they are found guilty, they could serve up to eight years and eight months in state prison.

A neighbor photographed Titus Chidi Ebubechukwu as he was arrested outside his home in Lancaster, Calif. on child abuse and false imprisonment charges. (Photo: KTLA)