Wisconsin couple plead not guilty in caged child case

RACINE, Wis. – A Wisconsin woman and her boyfriend have pleaded not guilty to locking her 9-year-old granddaughter in a basement kennel.

Forty-six-year-old Gail Lalonde and 48-year-old Dale Deavers entered their pleas Wednesday in Racine County Circuit Court.

Authorities say the girl was locked in a wire kennel every night and let out in the morning. A criminal complaint says Lalonde told investigators she kept the girl in the cage at night because she’s a danger to herself and others. Lalonde says her granddaughter hurts animals, threatens to kill them and eats cleaning solutions.

The complaint says investigators also found a marijuana growing operation behind a false wall in the basement.

Lalond and Deavers are charged with causing mental harm to a child, false imprisonment, manufacturing marijuana and maintaining a drug trafficking place.