Rivae Hart, Brian Hart Admit Locking Granddaughter In Bathroom For Years

Brian Hart and Rivae Hart admitted they barricaded their granddaughter in a bathroom for years, seldom letting her out. They did so, they claimed, because of the girl's behavioral problems.

DAYTON, Ohio -- An Ohio couple who authorities say kept a 9-year-old girl barricaded in a bathroom for several years was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison.

The girl's grandmother, Rivae (RY'-vuh) Hart, and her husband, Brian Hart, had pleaded guilty to several charges last month.

Fifty-year-old Rivae Hart pleaded guilty to charges of abduction and endangering children. Fifty-one-year-old Brian Hart pleaded guilty to a charge of permitting child abuse.

Police say the girl was kept in a small bathroom area blocked by stacked dressers and was rarely allowed out for several years. Authorities say the Harts told them they confined the girl because of behavioral problems.

The couple was sentenced in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court in Dayton. The county prosecutor said the girl can now begin her recovery.

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Comments

[Kauleienia Whitlock]

06:11 PM on 06/08/2012

THREE YEARS?? THAT'S IT?? I think one good way would be to take the number of years they kept her confined, and multiply it by at LEAST 10!!!! They've done irreparable damage to that poor child!!

[jadeaic]

11:01 AM on 05/24/2012

Anyone locked up for years in a bathroom would have behavior problems, no? Sick people - -

[Mike Block]

12:40 PM on 05/22/2012

"the Harts told them they confined the girl because of behavioral problems." Let's hope THEY stay confined for behavioral problems.

Is it me or do all the child abusers reported on HP look like inbred meth heads? Spooky stuff, folks.

On a serious note, I have a 9-year old girl and to have the light of my life suffer treatment like that is nauseating. These people should be neutered. I know: they're the GRAND parents, but they need to be removed from the gene pool.

I hope the girl gets the help and support she needs. It's going to be a long road for her.
Excelsior.

[Mark Cee]

10:15 AM on 05/22/2012

SAD, SICK, and a true reflection of our society.............

[Ystorm]

10:04 AM on 05/22/2012

To those that rant and rail against the paltry sentence of 3 years: What might be something helpful is, instead of ranting here on this silly blog, find out who your state reps are in your own state, and lobby them to change your own laws. Keep at it. Help protect those like this little kid that should have had a normal life. Laws are not something that only the lofty can change, YOU can have a hand in it as well. Never forget that. So off you go..do it now while you are still angry about this. Find your state reps on your state's gov. website and email them, or better yet, CALL them... find out what your laws are and if they are not good enough, do something about it.

[agb1953]

10:18 PM on 05/21/2012

Poor little girl will have a panic attack every time she hears a toilet flush for the rest of her life. These two droolers are going to have an eventful stay in prison when the population finds out why the're there.

[Sundae in the Park]

06:26 PM on 05/19/2012

Barbaric, sick and inhuman are the words that came to mind when I read about that poor little girl. What makes it even worse to me is that it was done by her own grandparents. Where were her parents?? Didn't anyone miss her? It also boggles my mind that both grandparents agreed to do it. You would think one of them would be appalled at the thought. Amazing that they got away with it for so long. The damage done to that poor child will probably be life long. The grandparents got 3 yrs? WHAT?? That is not justice. They both should be put in solitary confinement for, at least, triple the years they locked up that poor child.

[starchildjg24]

04:37 PM on 05/19/2012

I should give up reading the news. This is one of the most horrible miscarriages of justice. These people took 3 years of this young girl's life, plus have done untold damage psychological damage to her. Did they at least let her go to school? It sounds like she didn't have a jury trial. I would be even more horrified if a jury had given these monsters anything less than 20-life.
The justice system definitely needs a complete overhaul. There is no rhyme or reason in sentencing. Heck, remember the "three strikes" rule? How many of you live in communities where people are arrested again for the 18th time?

[Simplecomplexity]

04:33 PM on 05/19/2012

...and I'll bet you they're "Christians" and Anti-Choice. Intolerance goes hand in hand with heartless child abusers. They should both get LIFE! Three years is the most stupid sentence I've heard in years.

[agb1953]

10:16 PM on 05/21/2012

Yeah, most of the people in prisons aren't Democrats, are they?

[Simplecomplexity]

01:08 PM on 05/22/2012

Oh, you have data on this? Do tell.

[Ystorm]

09:59 AM on 05/22/2012

Your statement makes no sense. In my state the vast majority of those in prison are liberals. I think that abortion is wrong. Once a society deems it alright to kill its babies, that is the when the society crumbles. We have roe v. wade but it seems only now that every mom wants her baby dead. What happened to Rome? Oh you forgot? The roman empire is dead and gone. We will be as well. Thank you libs. Thank you.

[Simplecomplexity]

01:07 PM on 05/22/2012

MY statement makes no sense? EVERY mom wants her baby dead? You are simply clueless. Roe v Wade was about PRIVACY, and wht is more private than the inside of a woman's uterus? But you made no reference to these monsters who kept a child locked up for years! You are VERY concerned though about a baby prior to birth, but not this child? My statement was about two people who do not deserve freedom for the abuse they've made this little girl endure, YET, I am going to assume they'll call themselves Christians AND be anti choice yet they'll find nothing wrong with the monstrous abuseheaped on this child. No sense? AND no surprise you supply NO data about the liberals in prison in your state. HOW would you know?

[be practical]

02:01 PM on 05/19/2012

3 years? Unfkcnbelievable.

[dogsrock]

12:13 AM on 05/19/2012

Makes you wonder what the mother or father of this child was like if she was with grandparents scary family tree

[vascopyjama]

10:30 PM on 05/18/2012

They look normal enough.

[amaboss52]

05:27 PM on 05/18/2012

3 years? They deserve to be locked in a small bathroom for a lot longer than that. This child has years of therapy and even then may never fully recover. This is sickening!

[lynn1964]

05:10 PM on 05/18/2012

3 YEARS!!! This girl will be traumatizes for LIFE and they get 3 years and will probably be out in 1. One of these days, someone will take the "law" into their own hands and do what's right.

[Lurline231]

04:50 PM on 05/18/2012

This is disgusting? Future child abusers are sitting there possibly thinking "well, I only get 3 years if I abuse(traumatize) my child". These people should be put away for life or destroyed, I don't want them back in society.