SHARP CO., Ark. (ABC News) -- An Arkansas father is accused of chaining his daughter to a bed for five weeks with a dog leash and a short piece of chain.
Sharp County Sheriff Mark Counts said Michael Gilman was charged with false imprisonment and first degree endangering the welfare of a minor after officers found the 11-year-old girl chained to her bed by her ankle.
Counts also said her 15-year-old sister released her as soon as officers arrived.
Investigating officers said her father felt this was the solution to the 11-year-old getting up in the middle of the night and getting into food, other people's belongings, and sometimes going door-to-door in the neighborhood. They said he explained that he started chaining her up at night just before the first of the month to prevent her from getting into to trouble and that the girl was to be released when everyone got up in the morning.
When asked if he didn't think there was an alternative to control his daughter, Gilman said he had tried everything else and had been trying to deal with the problem for the past three years.
Police said three children were in the family - the two girls, who were home schooled, and a 6-year-old boy, who was attending public school.
Counts said all three children were taken into the care of social services, and that Gilman's bond is set at $1,000.
Police said the children's mother was in the state of New York assisting her stepdaughter.
