Dentist and his wife are SPARED jail after keeping their disabled, 14-year-old daughter locked in a CAGE for a month and denying her food and water
- Alan Friz and his wife, Aimee, pleaded guilty to neglect of dependent on Friday
- In exchange, the couple received two years of probation and dismissal of the criminal confinement charges they were initially charged with in 2017
- Police said the dentist and his wife kept the 14-year-old in a 4ft x 8ft cage
- The teenager was locked in the cage at night with a combination lock and a chain
- Friz was also accused of rubbing the girl's breasts several times over one year
- Teen is mentally disabled and family said they kept her locked up for her safety
An Indiana dentist and his wife who were accused of locking their disabled daughter in a cage and denying her food, water and clean facilities have been spared prison time.
Alan and Aimee Friz pleaded guilty Friday to neglect of a dependent in Crawford Circuit Court in exchange for two years of probation and the dismissal of their criminal confinement charges.
Several charges of sexual misconduct with a minor levied against Alan were also dismissed.
Both were originally charged in Dubois County, but the case was moved to Crawford County after they argued that they wouldn't get a fair trial there.
Indiana dentist, Alan Friz (left), and his wife, Aimee Friz (right), who were accused of locking their disabled daughter in a cage and denying her food, water and clean facilities, have been spared prison time
Several charges of sexual misconduct with a minor levied against Alan were also dismissed. Alan, who ran his own dental office in the town, was accused of groping the girl when he hugged her. He is pictured with a different child
The Huntingburg couple was arrested in October 2017 after deputies responded to their Dubois County home on a report of a 'juvenile that was out of control'.
When police arrived, they learned she had had another fight with someone else inside the home and that that man struck her with a cane.
Upon questioning, Aimee told detectives that the child was mentally disabled and that they had diagnosed her online without ever seeking the advice of a doctor, the affidavit claims.
Aimee claimed the child had threatened to murder her and her unborn baby and that the family was investigating how to treat her unspecified mental health problems.
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Police subsequently obtained a search warrant for the home and discovered the cage.
Authorities said the couple kept the teenager in a 4ft x 8ft cage, which they fashioned out of an old closet.
Later, when police questioned the teenager, she described the cage she was confined to a nightly basis.
She was locked in at night and anytime Aimee was not in the home with nothing but a pan to urinate into, according to disturbing court documents obtained by DailyMail.com.
Alan and Aimee Friz (pictured together) pleaded guilty Friday to neglect of a dependent in Crawford Circuit Court in exchange for two years of probation and the dismissal of their criminal confinement charges
Initially, Alan (left) faced 26 charges including sexual misconduct with a minor, criminal confinement and neglect of a dependent while Aimee (right) faced 22 charges of neglect of a dependent and criminal confinement
It was boarded up with wooden planks and was locked with a chain and a combination lock, according to detectives who searched the home.
The closet door even had a sign on the front which stated it was the girl's 'cage', he wrote.
Aimee's father told police the girl was locked up for her own safety because she had threatened to run away in the past.
Dubois County Sheriff's Deputy Jesus Monarrez wrote in his probable cause arrest affidavit at the time: 'The cage appeared to be an old closet. It appeared that they converted the old closet into a cage. The opening of the cell was enclosed with 2x4s and wood sheets.
'They gave [her] a pan so she could use it to go to the bathroom. It was 4x8 in size with a mattress.'
'She is locked in at night and let back out in the morning'.
Alan ran his own dental office in the town
During interviews, the teenager told how she was allowed to 'roam the property' when Aimee was at home but that she had to go 'back to her cage' if she was not.
She also described in how Alan Friz allegedly 'rubbed' her breasts and groped them every time he hugged her.
One one occasion, she said he joined her in the shower to touch them and 'rub her back' while asking her how her day was.
The girl said the abuse began when she was 13 and started her period, which she said was when she began developing breasts.
'Every time Alan hugs her, he touches her breasts. [She] motioned with her hands that Alan goes in from her neck line, down into underneath her shirt, and touches her breast skin to skin,' Monarrez wrote at the time.
Both Aimee and Alan were arrested after the child's interviews.
Alan faced 26 charges including sexual misconduct with a minor, criminal confinement and neglect of a dependent while Aimee faced 22 charges of neglect of a dependent and criminal confinement.
Aimee initially fled with her children before she could be arrested but she was taken into custody when she showed up to her husband's court appearance.
The other children who were living at the couple's home have been taken into the care of Child Protection Services.
