The abuse had gotten so severe that the 13-year-old decided to start secretly recording her grandmother. What she captured on her telephone on Jan. 19 disturbed even veteran law-enforcement officers. "The most disgusting, heinous child abuse I've ever dealt with," said detective Sgt. Ed Downs, of the Hocking County sheriff's office.

The abuse had gotten so severe that the 13-year-old decided to start secretly recording her grandmother. What she captured on her telephone on Jan. 19 disturbed even veteran law-enforcement officers.

�The most disgusting, heinous child abuse I�ve ever dealt with,� said detective Sgt. Ed Downs, of the Hocking County sheriff�s office.

Karen Sharpe, 54, of New Straitsville, was swiftly arrested on Wednesday after Downs watched video of Sharpe allegedly forcing men�s underwear soiled with feces into her 11-year-old granddaughter�s mouth and taping it there. When the girl vomited, Sharpe allegedly told her to swallow it.

This was the girl�s punishment for stepping on Sharpe�s injured foot.

Sharpe is charged with kidnapping, two felony counts of endangering children, and misdemeanor counts of endangering children, assault and domestic violence. She is being held on $1 million bond at the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail in Nelsonville. Detectives also are investigating Sharpe�s live-in boyfriend, Downs said.

Authorities might not have known about the abuse were it not for the elder child, whom Downs called �wise well beyond her years.� After Sharpe allegedly punched the 13-year-old � who has a steel plate in her head from abuse at the hands of another adult � in the face, the teen recorded her grandmother cursing and attacking the younger girl.

�I�ve never seen an animal being treated this way,� Downs said.

Sharpe had custody of the two girls, who share the same mother, Downs said. The girls were removed from the home and relocated by the county�s children�s services.

lkurtzman@dispatch.com

@LoriKurtzman