Associated Press

STATESVILLE — The guardian and brother of a 12-year-old boy are charged with child abuse after authorities say the boy was beaten and then duct-taped to a chair.

Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell said in a news release that the boy suffered an orbital fracture when one person held his hands behind his back while a second person struck him in the face with a fist. They say the child then was duct-taped to a chair and left there overnight.

Authorities say the child’s guardian, 71-year-old Frances Kay Campbell Miller, and the child’s brother, 20-year-old Dustin Webb Miller, face felony assault and other charges.

A phone number listed for the Millers wasn’t accepting messages.