Authorities discover 6-year-old Texas boy locked in shed with hands bound — he hasn't been allowed in the house since school let out in March
Disgusting and disturbing
Image source: KTVT-TV video screenshot
Dallas law enforcement authorities arrested two people after discovering a 6-year-old boy tied up in a shed. Reports said that the child had been trapped in the shed off and on since Texas announced schools would be closed in March.
What are the details?
KTVT-TV reported that the unnamed boy was found with his hands tied behind his back in the family's shed on Sunday night.
Authorities arrested his grandmother, 53-year-old Esmerelda Lira and her 66-year-old boyfriend, Jose Balderas, and charged the pair with felony charges of endangering a child and for placing him in imminent danger.
The child reportedly told police that he'd been confined to the shed since he "got out of school for this corona thing." He also said that Lira would tie him up, lock him in the shed, and tell him he was "bad" anytime she had to leave the house. Lira would also wash the child outside of the property by "spraying him with water."
He was only permitted to be in the backyard and not allowed to come inside the home for any reasons. He also told authorities that he was forced to sleep in the shed on a nightly basis, and would only be provided a plastic bag if he had to urinate or move his bowels.
The boy also added that his grandmother would physically abuse him in the pestilence-ridden shed, kicking him and grabbing him by the ears.
Lira's boyfriend Balderas reportedly told officers that he did not condone what Lira was doing, and said he did not want to be a part of the abuse. He confirmed that the child had been locked in the shed, however, for at least two weeks.
Authorities set bond for Lira and Balderas at $100,000 each.
Child Protective Services also removed at least two other children from the residence and placed them in protective custody.