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Pennsylvania parents, grandmother arrested in ‘horrendous’ child abuse case

All three suspects are facing several child abuse-related charges and are locked up in Luzerne County.
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PLYMOUTH, Pa. – Three people now face charges in what Pennsylvania authorities are calling a "horrendous" case of alleged child abuse.

A father, stepmother, and grandmother are charged with tying a child to a bed with a belt, making her eat off the floor and other horrific acts.

Plymouth police arrested all three suspects Wednesday and there are two children involved. Police say the case spans about two years and involves two police departments.

Plymouth police arrested Michael Law, his fiancee Cydney Magana, and Law's mother, Joann Ortmann.

Police say Ortmann abused her 9-year-old granddaughter inside a home on Gould Street in Plymouth and her parents, Law and Magana, let the abuse happen. All three are facing child abuse charges.

Police say the 9-year-old child was tied to a bunk bed, was forced to wear urine-soaked clothing, and had to eat from the floor. The girl's sister was also tied to a playpen. The papers also say Ortmann hit one of the children on the head with a coffee mug.

Plymouth police began investigating in October.

"Once we found out there was something going on ... Children and Youth did remove the children from the house, so during the investigation, no child was in harm's way," said Plymouth Police Sgt. Michael Thomas.

During the course of the investigation in Plymouth, police also found the family was facing similar charges in Duryea.

Police visiting their Duryea residence in 2016 said the home was filthy, according to court records. The children were taken from the family but were later given back because there was no evidence of abuse. In the most recent set of charges, court papers show two of the children were also abused in a home in Duryea. They were tired to a playpen with zip ties.

"They are very horrendous acts. I mean, no child should go through that. Nobody should go through that, so we're doing the best we can to do a very thorough investigation to make sure justice is done for the children," said Sgt. Thomas.

All three suspects are facing several child abuse-related charges and are locked up in Luzerne County.

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