A mother and her partner are facing charges of child abuse and child cruelty following the discovery of two children who were found chained by the ankle in a northern Virginia apartment.
A 47-year-old mother and a 29-year-old man, residing in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County, have informed the police that they resorted to chaining the ankle of a 9-year-old boy and his 7-year-old sibling as a means to “scare them” and prevent them from leaving the apartment. These details were revealed in court charging documents in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
The two individuals were taken into custody on August 16th. Based on court records, it appears that the 9-year-old obtained a cellphone from a roommate in the apartment, who has not been charged. A 9-year-old child managed to capture a photo of his foot, which was chained, and sent it to his older sister. She immediately took action and called 911.
According to authorities, upon knocking on the apartment door, the sound of chains rattling could be heard from inside.
According to a search warrant affidavit, the roommate informed the police that the two children were frequently restrained with chains in their absence.
According to WRC-TV, the boys are now in the custody of their father, who was not living in the apartment and was not charged. According to him, his sons failed to inform him about being chained during their visits.
Upon learning of the incident, I was taken aback and couldn’t help but wonder why such a thing occurred. It is truly disheartening to witness children being subjected to such treatment. This treatment is unjust and unacceptable. He emphasized that while he may be considered a criminal, innocent children are not involved, as he explained to the station in Spanish.
The mother’s parenting had previously caught the attention of authorities before last month’s arrest. In 2019, court records revealed that the mother faced legal consequences after her then-16-year-old daughter obtained an emergency protective order. The charges against the mother were for misdemeanor assault. The outcome of that case remained uncertain based on the available records from the juvenile court.
The public defender’s office, representing the mother, did not respond to a call on Tuesday morning for comment. The phone number provided for the court-appointed attorney representing the 29-year-old man was not functional on Tuesday.
The mother has been released as she awaits trial. The 29-year-old man is still in custody.
The pretrial hearing is set to take place on Oct. 2.