PARSONS, W.Va. — Two Parsons residents have been charged with more than 200 criminal allegations stemming from alleged child abuse incidents taking place over a period of about 7 months.

On December 18, a juvenile victim was interviewed by the Child Advocacy Center in Elkins and stated that he would be hit in the head, neck, face, back, chest, legs and stomach by Melissa Waybright, 27, of Parsons, and that sometimes he would “black out” from these hits, according to a criminal complaint.

The juvenile also stated that Dillon Waybright, 29, of Parsons, would also be involved in the abuse incidents, as well, deputies with the Tucker County Sheriff’s Department said.

Sometimes, according to the complaint, Melissa would jump and step on the juvenile while on he was on the ground, and would force the juvenile to put a bleach rag in his mouth that caused a burn to his face.

Melissa would also force the juvenile to put Dillon’s “dirty socks” in his mouth, and that when the juvenile came home from school, he would have to “take off his clothes and be naked,” deputies said.

The juvenile then stated that he would be locked in his bedroom, which had a lock on the outside, and he was not allowed out of his room to use the bathroom and if, “he has an accident that he would have to use a ‘butter bowl’ with water and his tooth brush to clean the carpet,” the complaint states.

Since the juvenile would try to “sneak drinks” from the bowl due to being “really thirsty,” Melissa began putting bleach in it so that he wouldn’t drink from it, deputies said. The juvenile also was not allowed to eat with the rest of the family, and if he was caught on “the camera” dumping out the water bowl he “got hit and and had to sleep on the floor without any covers or mattress,” according to the complaint.

The juvenile stated that Melissa and Dillon would also place wooden clothes pins on his genitals as punishment and that “it hurt him so bad that he screamed in pain” and Melissa and Dillon told him “to shut up” and would “hit him to get him quiet,” deputies said.

Another punishment inflicted on the juvenile for “acting like an animal” and “having accidents” was that Melissa and Dillon would force him to stay in a 42″ by 27″ x 29″ dog kennel made of metal and plastic in the dining area of the house, the complaint states.

The juvenile stated that he would have to eat meals and lie in the cage naked on top of his school clothes, which were covered by a “puppy pad,” deputies said. Also, he was forced to “go outside naked for long periods of time,” and that he was only allowed to bathe outside while Melissa would use a hose to wash him off, then he was forced to use a “puppy pad” to dry off, according to the complaint.

When the juvenile went to bed, he was forced to be naked and sometimes have to use the “puppy pad for a bathroom,” and Melissa would force him to drink any urine collected on the pad by “ringing it out in his mouth,” deputies said. Melissa also forced the juvenile to drink her urine out of a half-full Styrofoam cup, the complaint alleges.

If the juvenile was able to escape from the cage, Melissa and Dillon would use bungee cords; when the juvenile escaped from that, Melissa and Dillon used strings to tie the cage shut; when the juvenile cut the strings, Melissa and Dillon used zip-ties out of the pack to secure the kennel door shut, according to the complaint.

According to the juvenile, there were four cameras in the home and that all the doors of the home had “bolt-style” locks on the doors and that he would sometimes be forced by Melissa to put hot sauce and hot peppers in his mouth “and would no let him drink to lessen the pain,” deputies said.

On December 10, deputies with the Tucker County Sheriff’s Department filed a complaint for a search warrant on the Waybrights’ residence, and received one from a magistrate in Tucker County, according to the complaint.

When deputies executed the search warrant, they found the dog cage, zip ties and wooden pins, as well as a home security system which fed to cellular devices and a hard drive, deputies said.

Deputies stated the bedrooms in the residence were “very dirty,” and that there was a toothbrush and “butter bowl” in one of the bedrooms, according to the complaint. The wooden doors of the bedroom had four sections cut out where a metal wire had been stapled over the holes, deputies stated.

There were “bolt-style” door latches placed on the outside of the doors, and there was a safety gate screwed into one of the door frames, as well, according to the complaint.

Deputies then met with Melissa and Dillon at the Tucker County Sheriff’s Department after the search warrant was executed, and both were given their Miranda rights and asked to sign a DPS form 79, deputies said.

In her statement, Melissa admitted to locking the juvenile in a dog cage and placing clothes pins on his genitals, and Dillon stated that he was present when the juvenile was placed in the cage and when the “clothes pin punishment” was performed, the complaint alleges.

The complaint also said that the incidents took place between May 12 and December 10, 2019.

Melissa and Dillon Waybright have each charged with 60 counts of child abuse creating risk of injury, and each have also charged with 60 counts of conspiracy. They are both currently being held in Tygart Valley Regional Jail.