James and Crystal Driggers, the parents of a 14-year-old South Carolina girl who was allegedly barred from her home for eating a Pop-Tart, have been arrested on charges of child neglect after authorities found the teen living in a tent.
James Driggers, 33, and Crystal Driggers, 36, of Dalzell, South Carolina, are accused of setting up the tent in a wooded area about a quarter-mile from the family home where they ordered the girl to stay for a week as punishment for
eating the breakfast snack, The State reported. She was told only to come to the fence of the home for food, Sumter County Sheriff Department investigators said.
County investigators told the newspaper the Driggers equipped their daughter with only a roll of toilet paper, a flashlight, a whistle, and a watch for her week-long stay in the tent.
"The child was also left to fend for herself" when heavy thunderstorms hit Sumter County Thursday night, a sheriff's department statement said of the incident.
"She was out there for two days and was expected by her parents to stay out there for another five,"
Braden Bunch of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office told The Daily Beast. "The parents have confirmed to us exactly what they were planning."
The Driggers were held at the Sumter-Lee Detention Center after their arrest last week while the girl was placed in the custody of the Department of Social Services, according to The State. The couple's other four children are living with their grandparents, the newspaper noted.
The Driggers, described by The Daily Beast as "wannabe bodybuilders," were released on bail Monday.
Authorities reported other strange behavior from the couple. They reportedly once forced the girl to stay outdoors and outside of the home from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. to do yard work.
"She would have to use the restroom outside and retrieve water from a water hose," an investigator wrote in a report, according to The Daily Beast. "[She] stated that if she got really hungry, she would climb into the garage window and get food from the other refrigerator."
The parents reportedly told authorities that the girl has had discipline problems at home and school and they needed help with her.