(WTRF) – A Pennsylvania father is facing multiple felony charges for allegedly beating, choking, and even burying his 6-year-old daughter in a hole in the yard.

John Kraft, 50, of Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, strangulation, endangering the welfare of children, reckless endangerment, false imprisonment of a minor, and unlawful restraint of a minor, according to Greene County District Attorney David J. Russo.

In a statement shared with Nexstar, Russo’s office said the Pennsylvania State Police launched an investigation before arresting Kraft earlier this month.

The investigation uncovered evidence that Kraft’s 6-year-old child was “viciously beaten” with hands, a belt and a metal arm implant, and that her head was “slammed off the floor and the wall multiple times,” according to the district attorney’s office. She was also “choked to the point of unconsciousness,” Russo’s office said.

As punishment for allegedly lying, the child was also “buried outside in a hole and left for periods of time,” according to the statement. She would also be thrown into the hole and left overnight at times, investigators said.

Speaking to investigators, the young girl said she would be dirty and smelling of sewage when she was finally allowed out of the yard, according to a news release from the Pennsylvania State Police.

The child also displayed bruises, both old and new, over a “significant” portion of her head and body, according to Russo’s office.

The district attorney has since vowed to prosecute Kraft to the fullest extent of the law.

If convicted, Kraft faces decades behind bars. One of the aggravated assault charges — which is a felony in the first degree — alone carries a possible sentence of 20 years in prison.

“The allegations against the Defendant are barbaric and horrific and the 1st degree felony charges are appropriate,” Russo wrote in the statement shared with Nexstar.

The child was removed from Kraft’s home and is currently in “a safe place,” Russo added.