Couple babysat daughter in small basement room with alarm

NEW BOSTON, NH (AP) — A couple confined a girl for more than two months in a small basement room with barred windows and an alarm, police said Tuesday.

Thomas Atkocaitis, 57, and Denise Atkocaitis, 55, of New Boston, each face charges of criminal restraint, kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child. Additional charges are possible as the investigation continues.

Police did not say whether the Atkocaitises were the girl’s parents and would describe her age only as under 18. She was kept in a room less than 8 feet by 8 feet and was only allowed out for an hour each day to eat or use the bathroom, authorities said.

The girl managed to escape on Sept. 5, New Boston Police Chief James Brace said. She was found on a road across the city border in Mont Vernon and informed police of her arrest.

The couple was released on bail and is scheduled to appear in court on November 1. It was unclear whether they had lawyers to speak on their behalf, and a listed phone number was no longer in service.

Brace described the girl as doing well and said she was in state custody.

“It’s shocking when things like this happen,” Brace said. “It’s shocking that they happen anywhere, whether you live in a city or a small town.”

Police have had previous contact with the family, including last year when Denise Atkocaitis was arrested on suspicion of assaulting another family member under the age of 18 and in 2010 when she was accused of abusing a third child.

It is unclear how these previous cases were resolved.