Greene County father who buried daughter in shallow hole pleads guilty for assault
Kraft sentenced to serve 4 to 10 years in state prison
The father who buried his daughter in a shallow hole filled with raw sewage outside their Greene County home in 2022 pleaded guilty Monday to assaulting the young girl, and he was immediately sentenced to serve time in prison.
John Edward Kraft, 52, pleaded guilty in Greene County Court of Common Pleas to aggravated assault, strangulation and child endangerment as part of a plea deal with the state Attorney General’s office, leading President Judge Lou Dayich to sentence him to serve 4 to 10 years in state prison.
Kraft was accused of beating the 7-year-old girl and leaving her with bruises, prompting workers with Greene County Children and Youth Services to investigate the abuse. During their visit to the family’s Franklin Township residence on Sept. 21, 2022, the girl’s mother, Frankie Kraft, indicated to the CYS workers that her daughter was not safe in the home.
State police investigators said the girl had severe bruising to her buttocks that appeared to go beyond normal discipline. The girl and her two brothers were removed from the home that night and taken to live with a foster family in Lawrence County.
Frankie Kraft and her daughter later told police that John Kraft once punished the girl for lying to him by taking her out to the backyard and burying her in a small hole for at least 30 minutes on a cold and dark night. That section of the yard was surrounded by raw sewage, and Frankie Kraft told the CYS caseworkers that she had to bathe the girl several times afterward due to the putrid smell.
When police went to the family’s home at 311 Tollgate Run Road, they found a muddy area in the back that appeared to have freshly dug dirt. State police charged John Kraft with numerous felony counts in October 2022, and he has been free since that time after posting the $125,000 bond.
Kraft’s defense attorney, Jim Jeffries, said the plea deal was in the best interest for everyone involved
“We negotiated the plea and think it’s the best resolution for the case,” Jeffries said.
Frankie Kraft, 47, also pleaded guilty Monday to misdemeanor child endangerment as part of an open plea with prosecutors, her defense attorney Joseph Zupancic said. Dayich sentenced her to time served in jail – she spent two days in the Greene County jail after being charged in December 2022 – followed by nearly five years on parole. While Frankie Kraft was not accused of being involved in the abuse, investigators indicated that she covered up her husband’s actions at times while speaking to CYS caseworkers.