Five children in the custody of an arrested Vicksburg couple have been removed after one of the children was allegedly beaten while hogtied.

Judge Johnny Price of Warren County Court ordered the children taken from Tremayne Cooks and Suanna M. Shelby, both 29-year-old residents of 300 Belva Drive.

A 9-year-old girl was found to have received “extensive bruising of an abusive nature,” including in the buttocks and wrist areas, social worker Becky Dunn of the Mississippi Department of Human Services in Warren County testified Wednesday before Price.

The girl had apparently been handcuffed at the wrists and ankles and struck with a wooden paddle about 18 to 24 inches long and 3 inches wide, Dunn said.

A mark on the girl’s arm or wrist appeared to have been made by a feature of the paddle that included lettering and punctuation marks, Dunn said.

The child’s injuries were reported anonymously, Dunn said. Such cases have been reported by neighbors, friends or others. State law requires medical and education workers to report suspected abuse to the DHS.

After the investigation, Cooks and Shelby were arrested Tuesday and both were jailed on a felony child abuse charge.

Cooks was accused of beating the child and Price set bond for him at $50,000. Shelby was accused of standing by while he did and bond for her was set at $25,000.

Cooks was reported to be the father of one child in the home. Shelby was reported to be the mother of the other four with Cooks the father of none of them. Price ordered all five into the custody of the DHS, which he said planned to place them with other relatives. Price further ordered Cooks and Shelby to have no contact with any of the five children pending further order of his court.

The penalty for felony child abuse is up to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine, said District Attorney Gil Martin, who represented the state at the bond hearing.

Cooks and Shelby both said they had yet to hire lawyers.