A couple who allegedly starved their 12-year-old daughter were accused seven years ago of locking the girl in a room and leaving the house, according to court records.

Denise M. Wright, 33, and her husband, Melvin Wright Jr., were indicted last week on charges of attempted second-degree murder after their daughter was found malnourished in an apartment earlier this year.

In the 2000 case, Denise Wright also was accused of physically abusing her daughter, according to court records.

The couple was arrested April 18, 2000, after a neighbor told police that the child, then 5, was locked and left in her room all day. The neighbor also alleged Denise Wright abused the girl, according to court documents.

Denise Wright pleaded no contest in 2000 to the misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a minor and received a year's probation.

On May 25, 2000, Melvin Wright pleaded not guilty to the same charge and demanded a jury trial. The judge ordered Melvin Wright not to "harass, annoy or threaten" his daughter, according to court records. On June 26, 2000, Melvin Wright changed his plea to no contest and received the same sentence as his wife, according to court documents.

Both sentences were accepted by the court over the objections of prosecutors.

As in all criminal cases involving the abuse and neglect of a minor, the case was forwarded to state Child Welfare Services, which counseled the Wrights for about a year, court records show.

State social workers submitted a report on the case in 2001 to show that Denise Wright had complied with her sentence, court records show.

No further court action was taken against the Wrights at that time, according to court documents.

A state Department of Human Services spokesman declined to comment about the 2000 case or the current criminal investigation.

"We see an array of abuse and neglect cases, and they are all important to us because they involve the safety and welfare of children," said Derick Dahilig, public information officer for DHS. "We take them all seriously."

Melvin Wright was arrested Sunday in his Waipahu apartment. Denise Wright was arrested Friday in an apartment in Mo'ili'ili. Bail for both was set at $100,000.

They remain in custody pending their arraignment tomorrow in Circuit Court.

The couple's daughter was found extremely malnourished by Emergency Medical Services on Jan. 7 at a Kina'u Street apartment after one of the parents called to report she was not eating. She weighed less than 50 pounds when she was discovered.

Child Welfare Services has maintained foster custody of the child since January.

The Wrights, who married in Charleston, S.C., in 1995, filed for divorce in March.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.