GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A couple in Gainesville were charged with child abuse and neglect after police found they'd been keeping their kids locked up in homemade cages while they were at work, reports said.
According to the Miami Herald, the parents were working as biological scientists at the University of Florida. They had two children, ages 2 and 6. Their 6-year-old son went to school. When he told a school employee that he didn't want to go home because he would be put in a cage his dad built, the Department of Children and Families began to investigate the family.
Eventually, Gainesville Police became involved in the investigation. According to the police reports, when officers went to the family's house, they found the "cage" the child was being kept in, which the father insisted to officers was a "bed frame" that had been in the child's room for about a year.
The couple reportedly kept the child in it overnight and after he got home from school. They then were said to leave him in the house alone while they were at work.
Officers say they subsequently found a second makeshift cage in the parents' bedroom which they had been locking their second child inside.
According to the police reports, the mother told officers that their son has ADHD and is disobedient, which has made it impossible for them to find after-school childcare for him. She also said her son was only left alone for a few hours at a time.
Their 6-year-old son reportedly told officers he had to wear training pants when he was caged overnight and would not be let out to use the bathroom, though he was allowed to during the day. He also told officers he didn't want to get anyone in trouble, he just did not want to be put in the cage again.
The parents were both taken into custody and booked on child abuse and neglect charges. Both of their kids were placed in the custody of the Department of Children and Families, and they are currently on administrative leave from their jobs.
