Costa Mesa police say the 32-year-old woman is charged with one misdemeanor count of child abuse. They have also decided not to name the mother to protect the identity of her daughter, a minor.

Authorities alleged that on Oct. 29 the mother hit her 13-year-old daughter three times with a stick and then locked her in a closet for six hours as punishment for "bad" grades, said Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Phil Myers. mother locked girl in closet 6 hours, girl locked closet stick bad grades

He did not know the grades the girl earned.

A concerned party called police after the incident, he said.

Police arrested the woman within a couple of hours of the report. She was in custody at Orange County Jail until early Monday morning, when she posted bail and was released, according to Orange County Sheriff's Department records.

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