Deputies in Oklahoma have arrested a man and his girlfriend after they found his 15-year-old daughter tied to a tree, where she’d been for at least 24 hours.

Johnny James, 40, told investigators his daughter had developmental issues and he didn’t know any other way to prevent her from urinating and defecating indoors because she wanted to live with her mother, the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise reported.

But a witness who called 911 said the girl had been tied up in the back yard for at least three days and had injuries that needed medical attention, according to Law&Crime, which obtained an affidavit filed in the case.

The affidavit said the caller had been sneaking the teen food and that she had “a hole in her leg and lesions on her arms.” Deputies who responded to the home in Vera found her sitting on a piece of carpet, leaning over at the waist with a “ratchet-style tie down strap around her.”

A relative told police that she knew what was going on but was “too afraid” of James to speak up.

James, who was not at the home when deputies arrived, soon showed up and said his daughter “cannot be trusted and likes to lie.” He also said she was only tied up for an hour while he was gone but admitted he had tied her up on two other occasions.

“Johnny explained the times she is left outside was to go to the store or church this morning due to her peeing and pooping on herself and not wanting it inside so they sat her outside that way there is no mess,” the affidavit said. “When Johnny was asked, he stated this was the only option to keep her restrained because he did not know what else to do to help her.”

But, James said, he “sees now he will need to figure out another solution.”

James’ girlfriend, 42-year-old Kayla Clark, told deputies that “she was taking a shower and did not know anything took place” that morning. She said she didn’t see the girl tied to the tree when they left for church because she was too “frazzled.”

James was charged with child abuse and child neglect, and Clark was charged with neglect. They are being held at the Washington County Jail on $500,000 bonds, with a court hearing set for August 9.

The Examiner-Enterprise said that state services removed several other children from the home, but it wasn’t clear if they belonged to either James or Clark.

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[Featured image: Johnny James and Kayla Clark/Washington County Jail]