Phoenix couple accused of longtime torture and abuse of child
Apr 7, 2022, 11:50 AM
From left: Keola Wimbish and Chloe Sergent (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Photos)
(Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Photos)
PHOENIX – A Phoenix couple accused of the yearlong abuse and torture of the woman’s child were arrested Tuesday, authorities said.
Keola Wimbish, 39, and Chloe Sergent, 26, were taken into custody in Glendale and booked into Maricopa County Jail on one count each of physical abuse of a child.
Wimbish, the girl’s stepfather, also faces one count of probation violation.
A Phoenix Police Department report said medical exams conducted in December 2021 after the girl was removed from the home at 32nd Street and Thomas Road detailed evidence of nearly a dozen fractured bones, burn marks, lacerations, bruises and infected wounds.
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The abuse, according to the report, had been going on since December 2020.
The girl told investigators adults set her on fire, hit her at various times with a hammer, a machete and a crowbar, had held her head underwater in a bucket and had placed a cloth over her face and poured water on it, aka waterboarding, among other acts of violence.
The girl also said Wimbish forced her to lie about who had hurt her.
Both Wimbish and Sergent told investigators they didn’t know how the child was hurt or the extent of her injuries.
Court documents revealed the girl told police the abuse began after Wimbish’s ankle monitor was taken off.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Taylor Kinnerup contributed to this report.
