Louisiana couple arrested in Texas after traffic accident revealed tortured teen

A Terrebonne Parish teen was ruthlessly burned by her mother after she told her mother how her mother's fiance sexually abused her. The fiance later shot her on two separate occasions. They were caught with the tortured teen in Texas, denying her medical treatment.

Terrence Washington and Latonya Harris were found to have the abused 15-year-old in their car when they wrecked it in Baytown Texas. The traffic stop by Baytown Police led to the grisly discovery of the victim, April 20. The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office picked up the investigation the next day.

"For someone to do that to their child, I can't even put it to words or understand,"said a visibly emotional Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Tim Soignet at a press conference Thursday. He said of the child, "She was a true warrior and a survivor."

According to Soignet, Harris burned the child in mid-February after learning of the sexual assault committed by her fiance Washington on the child. The injuries were third and fourth degree burns over 30% of the victim's body. Since that time, both Harris and Washington denied medical treatment to the child, Soignet said.

Later on, in the weeks leading up to the wreck, Washington shot the child at the Thibodaux residence on two separate days. The residence in the 400 block of West Park Ave, it has a Thibodaux zip code, but falls within Terrebonne Parish.

According to the Sheriff's Office's press release, at the residence detectives found evidence of the shooting and neglect.

"Detectives discovered evidence to confirm that a weapon was shot inside the home, and in addition to blood evidence, the strong odor of infection and decomposing flesh could be smelled," it said.

The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office said Washington also admitted to sexually abusing the child, and the office said that the teen woke up to Harris standing over her with a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a lighter. She is recovering from "large scale burns" and multiple gunshot wounds, and has been to multiple hospitals within the Houston area, since her rescue.

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Washington, 41, is charged with two counts of Attempted First-degree Murder, Second-degree Cruelty to a Juvenile, Obstruction of Justice, Molestation of a Juvenile, three counts of Indecent Behavior with a Juvenile, and five counts of Second-degree Rape.

Harris, the 40-year-old mother, is charged with Attempted First-degree Murder, Second-degree Cruelty to a Juvenile, and Domestic Abuse Battery Child Endangerment.

Harris was arrested May 9 by Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office after being released from the hospital. Washington was arrested April 20, and is in custody in Texas and awaiting extradition to Terrebonne.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Louisiana couple arrested after traffic accident revealed tortured teen