Dalzell parents charged with child abuse

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Two Dalzell-area parents have been arrested after allegedly making their child live in a tent about a quarter mile from their home because their daughter ate a Pop-Tart.

Crystal Lynn Driggers, 36, and James Allen Driggers, 33, both of 3480 Ben Sanders Road were arrested and charged Friday with one count each of unlawful neglect of a child.

The parents allegedly made their 14-year-old daughter camp out in the tent in a wooded area near their home known to have wild hogs. The teen was only given a single roll of toilet paper, a flashlight, a whistle and a watch.

They allegedly told the child if she wanted food she had to meet at specific times by a fence to receive it, otherwise she wouldn’t eat.

And, when severe thunderstorms rolled through the Sumter-area Thursday night, the child was left to fend for herself in the woods.

The reason behind doing this, according to a release from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, is the parents wanted to punish their daughter for eating a Pop-Tart toaster pastry.

According to the release, during the deputies’ investigation they found the child wasn’t allowed to enter their home between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. last month.

Crystal and James are being held at Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center and are currently awaiting a bond hearing.

Both have one charge each of discharging firearms into a dwelling from 2013 pending in Sumter County courts.

Their daughter is in South Carolina Department of Social Services’ custody, and her four siblings are being taken care of by their grandparents.