Mother & Boyfriend Charged With Multiple Felonies After Child Torture Case
On Tuesday, April 12, 2022, around 11:20 AM, the Gary Police Department was dispatched to the 300 block of Clark Road regarding an unconscious and unresponsive child, according to court documents.
Upon entering the apartment, officers discovered a three year old child wearing little clothing, laying on a towel in the living room. The childs mother, Tiarra Glenn, who resides in the apartment, told officers that the small child was hysterically crying, hyperventilating and soon after became unresponsive, records allege.
The child was rushed to Methodist Northlake for further treatment. Officers asked that mother what had taken place that day and she stated that the three year old was being disciplined for not eating her food. The mother’s live in boyfriend, Devan Loventa Allen, who the children knew as (Vinnie) was regularly incharge of disciplining the youngest child. The mother, Glenn, stated she has rheumatoid arthritis, was currently pregnant and just is incredibly tired most of the time that she struggles to take good care of her kids, the affidavit stated. Devan and the mother have known each other for approximately eight years, however he just moved in with the mother and her two young daughters in December of 2021.
Medical staff at Methodist advised officers that the fragile childs injuries were far more severe than imagined. Her little body was completely covered in bruises from head to toe, had what appeared to be bite marks on her abdomen, marks consistant with a belt that spread across her legs, thighs and buttocks, blood covered lips, redness around her neck and brusing on the tops of her feet. Further tests revealed the child was also suffering from a very serious brain injury and was quickly transported by helicopter to Comer Children’s Hospital. A CT scan revealed brain hemorrhages, a midline shift (displacement of brain tissue), swelling in the brain and herniation. She was quickly taken into the operating room for a craniotomy.
After multiple interviews with the childs mother, Glenn, regarding the incident on April 12th, it is believed that around 8 AM, Devan made the three year old breakfast, which consisted of leftovers from the previous day that the young girl didn’t finish. After eating breakfast Devan made her stand in the corner of a closet because he was still upset with her for misbehaving the previous day. After an hour or so, the mother and Devan became extremely fustrated with the painful cries of the little girl. Glenn admitted she then hit the small child with a belt at least six times. As the cries and painful screams continued, the mother stated she couldn’t take the noise anymore and left the bedroom. She went into the living room and noticed Devan getting super angry with the child as he began to also hit the child with the belt. Eventually she saw Devan entering the living room carrying the defenseless child in his arms. The small girl had her hands tightly tied behid her back and a scarf wrapped around her face. Glenn and Allen both tried to force water down the toddlers throat to calm her down. After that failed attempt Devan took the girl back to the closet and told her to “make an X on the wall,” which was normal punishment by the couple. The mother stated that her and Devan would sometimes bind the childs hands together using electrical tape or make her stand legs apart and arms out facing up for an extensive amount of time.
With the small amount of strength the little girl had in her body she couldn’t make the “X” on the wall like Devan had asked, so he began aggressively striking her several more times. Sometime later the mother remembers hearing a loud thump come from the closet. She then sees Devan coming back into the living room carrying the lifeless little body. Her eyes just staring into space, wearing no shirt, her hands still tied behind her back, had urinated and deficated herself and was grasping for air. At this time, before calling police or medics, the couple cleaned up the apartment, washed the little girl and dressed her. After about twenty minutes and no improvement with the child waking up, Glenn stated she googled “hyperventilation.” Google instructed the mother to call 911 and finally around 11 AM she did just that and requested an ambulance for her daughter.
The mother Tiarra Glenn was arrested at the hospital and booked into The Lake County Jail. The boyfriend Devan Loventa has not been arrested as of Friday.
Update – The Cook County Medical Examiner has confirmed the three year old girl has passed this morning at Comer Children’s Hospital. Expect more charges after the holiday.
UPDATE – Devan Loventa Allen was taken into custody last night by the Lynwood Police Department. He will be extradited back to Indiana next week.
Devan Loventa Allen and Tiarra Glenn have been charged with the following:
Battery Resulting In Serious Bodily Injury To A Person Less Than 14 – Level 3 Felony
Neglect of a Dependent Resulting In Seriously Bodily Injury – Level 3 Felony
Battery Resulting In Serious Bodily Injury – Level 5 Felony
Battery Resulting In Serious Bodily Injury To A Person Less Than 14 – Level 5 Felony
Neglect of a Dependent Resulting In Seriously Bodily Injury – Level 5 Felony
Battery Resulting In Moderate Bodily Injury – Level 6 Felony
Battery On Person Less Than 14 – Level 6 Felony
Neglect of Dependent – Level 6 Felony
