SPOKANE, Wash – Court documents in Spokane detail a horrific case of child abuse in which a young boy was locked in a dog crate and beaten with a belt, as his mother deprived him of food.
Warning: the details in this article may be disturbing.
The case began with an anonymous tip to Child Protective Services about a 7-year-old child who was locked in his room, physically abused and deprived of food.
CPS visited the family’s home on August 3rd. Court documents say the child’s mother admitted “locking [the child] in a metal dog kennel overnight using a padlock so the child wouldn’t get up and gorge himself on food.” Her boyfriend also told CPS that the mother has spanked the child “15-20 times with a leather belt and that [the child] screams at the top of his lungs in anticipation of being hit.”
Court documents say the pair “have made [the child] eat a spoonful of Habanero hot sauce 3-4 times because ‘it’s hot and painful.’”
Even though they are named in court documents, 4 News Now is not reporting their names until they are arrested and charged with a crime.
The child told CPS he has been “locked in a tent in his bedroom by having the zippers tied together and tied with a parachute cord. He tore small holes in the top of the tent to untie the parachute cord and escape the tent,” according to a search warrant filed by Spokane Police on August 20th.
The child told CPS he also used his teeth to tear a hole in the tent that he could escape.
He also told CPS he was forced to sleep in the dog kennel “many times” and that he had a dog pillow and a horse blanket inside the crate. He said the crate was locked with zip ties and a lock to keep him from getting out.
Spokane Police came to the home on August 4th and took statements from the child, CPS and a medical expert hired to examine the child. That expert said the child was “a victim of child abuse, if not torture.” Police saw bruising over the child’s eye as well.
The child and his younger siblings were removed from the home at that time.
In a follow-up exam with Partners With Families and Children, a medical expert saw “bruising consistent with child abuse.” The child told her that “his mother does not feed him regularly and restricts his access to food by locking him in his bedroom day and night.” According to court documents, “[the child’s] mother admits to keeping [him] locked in his room day and night to keep him away from the food. [The child] has lost 14 pounds since last year.”
The child’s mother also admits the bruising on his arm and buttock are from her hitting him with the belt, according to the search warrant.
The expert concluded “[the child] could have easily died while in the care of his mother if the situation had progressed much further.”
The child said both his mom and her partner were responsible for the abuse; he said when he was out of his room, he had to have his nose up against the wall.
“[The child] stated his mom says he is a bad kid so he has to sleep in the dog crate. ‘My mom told me not to tell about the dog crate.’”
A child abuse expert from Partners with Families and Children interviewed the child on three separate occasions. She said he is very well spoken, articulate and detailed in his description of events. According to the search warrant, he drew pictures of the belt, the tent with holes, a zip tie, the dog pillow and the dog kennel.
Spokane Police questioned the mother who admitted hitting her child, locking him in the dog crate and depriving him of food. She also said her boyfriend used a “Komora” [sic] hold on her son until he had to take gasping breaths or could not breathe. A Kimura hold is a submission hold used in mixed martial arts.
“She never thought about the consequences of a fire in the apartment with [the child] locked in the dog kennel,” police wrote. “She estimates she has hit [the child] with the belt 30-40 times since he has turned 6 years old.”
As of Monday afternoon, the two have not been charged with a crime. The search warrant indicates police wanted to search the apartment on N. Morton Court for evidence of first degree criminal mistreatment of a child and unlawful imprisonment.
“The investigation can continue at a pace that it is thorough and complete to get the best amount of evidence to hopefully be used in a criminal prosecution,” Spokane Police Officer John O’Brien said Monday. “Until the investigation is complete, the charges have not yet been determined.”
Spokane County has a rate of child abuse higher than the state or national average.
If you have information or suspicion that a child in Washington is being abused or neglected, you can call the number for Child Protective Services that corresponds to where you live. You can find the number at this link.
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