Miller-Duke.jpg

Danielle L. Miller, 31, and Nathan Duke, 30, both face felony charges in connection with abuse of a 4-year-old boy over a four month span, officials said.

(Lancaster County district attorney's office)

A Quarryville couple is facing charges in the repeated abuse of a 4-year-old boy over a four-month period.



Danielle Lynn Miller, 31, and Nathan Paul Duke, 30, both face felony charges. Miller is accused of forcing the boy to eat laxatives and hot sauce, binding the boy's legs for hours and locking him in a padded closet for hours, according to a news release from the Lancaster County district attorney's office.

Miller told the boy he was "playing mermaid" when she bound him, police said, adding that he was barricaded in the closet and terrorized by her. She also fed him "poop beans," which officials described as a laxative concoction.

Miller reportedly fed the boy hot sauce and would not allow him to drink water for long periods of time. Police said she forced the boy to sit on a toilet for hours until he defecated.

The boy sustained lacerations, bruises and burns as a result of the abuse. He was removed from the home in July and is now with relatives, officials said.

The investigation into the abuse began when an acquaintance of the couple reported suspected behavior. Multiple acquaintances of the family also corroborated abuse accounts and provided specific information about specific incidents, officials said.



Miller is also accused of calling the boy a "(expletive) pig" and telling him he has a "stupid, ugly face. Police believe Miller resented the boy and abused him because he was Duke's child with another woman. She faces eight felony charges.

Duke is charged with felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child and conspiracy because he concealed the abuse and did not report Miller's actions, officials said.

Three other children who lived with Miller and Duke are now in the care of local Children and Youth services. Officials said no charges have been filed in regards to those children.

Miller is being held at Lancaster County Prison on $300,000 bail. Duke is also incarcerated on $100,000 bail.