A Texas woman known as the 'Girl in the Closet' after being rescued from a filthy cupboard as a child was released from jail l...
A Texas woman known as the 'Girl in the Closet' after being rescued from a filthy cupboard as a child was released from jail last week after having child sexual assault charges dismissed against her.
The Denton County District Attorney's Office has not explained why prosecutors made the decision to drop three felony counts on which 28-year-old Lauren Kavanaugh had been indicted in 2019.
She was previously found incompetent to stand trial and was ordered committed to a mental health facility.
A spokesperson for the DA did not immediately respond to request for comment on Monday morning.
Lauren Kavanaugh, known as 'The Girl in The Closet,' has had three charges of child sexual abuse dismissed against her in Texas. She was rescued from horrific captivity in 2001 (right)
Court records indicate that prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the counts on Tuesday, and that a judge closed the case within hours, clearing the way for Kavanugh's release from lockup the next day, reported The Dallas Morning News.
Kavanaugh had faced up to 20 years in prison on each charge if convicted at trial.
Kavanaugh made national headlines in 2001 when she was rescued from her family's mobile home after years of horrific physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her mother and stepfather. Dubbed 'The Girl in The Closet,' Kavanaugh weighed just over 25lbs at the time.
Kavanaugh was arrested in December 2018, after a 14-year-old girl told police that she had been in a sexual relationship with the woman for two months.
Kavanaugh was arrested in 2018, accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl she met in a Facebook group
The pair met through a Facebook account called 'The Lauren Kavanaugh Story' where Kavanaugh offered support and friendship to victims of abuse, according to detectives. That page has since been taken down.
Kavanaugh and the teen allegedly got into a relationship and the victim's parents said that Kavanaugh was living with them, according to NBC.
When interviewed by police, Kavanaugh initially claimed that she and the teen were 'just friends,' but then admitted to having a sexually explicit conversation with the girl on Facebook.
'Lauren also said that was the only time and that she was sorry and learned her lesson,' a detective wrote in an affidavit.
When asked if she was involved in a sexual relationship with the minor, Kavanaugh challenged the cop to arrest her and refused to make any further statements.
As a child, Kavanaugh was starved, tortured, and raped in a 4 by 8 feet closet (above) by her mother and stepfather who are now serving life in prison sentences
The closet that Kavanaugh called 'home' for six years was covered with feces and strewn with trash (above)
Lauren's mother Barbara Atkinson (left) and stepfather Kenny Atkinson (right) were convicted of felony injury to a child in 2002 and jailed for life, not eligible for parole until 2031
While in jail, Kavanaugh racked up additional charges for allegedly assaulting corrections officers, but the district attorney's office declined to prosecute her.
In September 2020, a judge ordered Kavanaugh committed to a mental health institution to restore her competency so she could potentially stand trial.
The judge ordered a mental health evaluation this past August, the results of which have not been made public.
Between the ages of two and eight, Kavanaugh was confined to a 4-by-8-foot feces-smeared closet, and was starved, raped, and tortured by her mother, Barbara Atkinson, and stepfather, Kenneth Atkinson.
A doctor later testified the little girl had been sexually abused so badly that she needed surgery, according to People Magazine.
The Atkinson couple are serving life sentences for felony injury to a child and will be eligible for parole in 2031.
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