A Texas woman has been arrested for beating three young children with a dog chain, and refusing them food and shelter.

The suspect, named as Lakendra Monique Williams, 30, from Bexar County in the US state of Texas, has been “indicted on multiple charges of child abuse”, according to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office.

In a statement on 23rd November, the Office said: “The 18 count indictment alleges that on Feb. 18, 2021, Williams intentionally and knowingly caused serious bodily injury to three children 14 years of age or younger.”

She is accused of “striking the children with her hands, striking the children with her foot, striking the children with a chain held by her hand, causing the children to kneel on grains of rice, handcuffing the children to a bed”.

The District Attorney’s Office added that “Williams had a legal duty to act and failed to do so in that Williams failed to provide food, water and shelter to the children”.

Williams is being prosecuted by the Family Violence Division in the 144th District Court on the charge of assault-intentionally/knowingly causing serious bodily injury to a child, “a first degree felony punishable by 5 to 99 years or life in prison and a possible fine of up to USD 10,000”.

This week, Williams’ case was one of 147 indictments handed down by the Bexar County Grand Jury.

The authorities asserted that “an indictment is not a finding of guilt”.

They added: “A person charged by indictment is presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury or a judge.”

As the case is still under investigation, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office was unable to make further comment on the allegations.

Local reports said the suspect and her partner Walter Hawthorne, 34, were arrested on 22nd February by San Antonio cops after finding a nine-year-old girl unresponsive with apparent signs of abuse.

She reportedly only weighed 35 lbs and doctors told the authorities that she was “lucky” to have not died of starvation.

According to local media quoting the affidavit, the girl claimed that her mum and boyfriend beat her with a dog lead until she passed out and had used handcuffs on her ankles in the past.

The affidavit also reportedly says that the mother “thinks she steals and doesn’t like her (the victim)”.

According to local reports, Hawthorne was indicted in May on the same charges, but was declared incompetent to stand trial in August and the case is still pending.