MO Man James Hayes Accused Beating, Starving GF’s Kids Forced To Sleep In Bathroom Closet

KANSAS CITY, MO. (THECOUNT) — James L. Hayes, of Sedalia, Missouri, was arrested and accused of beating and starving his girlfriend’s three children, as well as making them sleep in a locked bathroom closet.

According to court documents, Hayes, 48, regularly beat three victims, ages 12, 9 and 8, striking them with a belt with “pointy metal objects” on it, the kids told investigators.

All three children told investigators in separate interviews that James would grow angry when they ate food in the house so he would punish them by making them do exercises like pushups and squats. They also said he would make them lay on the ground, repeatedly kick them and then hit them belts. He also allegedly shot them with an airsoft gun on one occasion. source

The children said they were only allowed to exit the bathroom when their mother’s probation officer visited.

Police searched Hayes’s home for evidence and located the studded belt, airsoft gun and bars on the bathroom door described by the children.

Hayes is charged with child abuse, second-degree kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child.