Mom chains 10 year old son up "to keep him out of gangs"
Posted by: Jon Ben-Mayor on 07/20/2013 06:49 AM
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A woman in Santa Ana, CA, has been arrested for chaining her 10 year old son up in an attempt to keep him home and out of trouble.
Cpl. Anthony Bertagna with the Santa Ana Police Department told ABC, "She thinks he may be getting into gangs and hanging out with the wrong crowd, possibly going to get involved in criminal activity, so apparently this was her last resort."
Some neighbors noticed the 10-year-old outside the apartment just before noon Thursday. Police allege his mother left him inside in his underwear and that he managed to pull jean shorts up over the chains with both his legs through one pant leg.
"He would hop, obviously because he couldn't walk and he would get tired, so he'd sit down and get back up. And then my mom asked him, 'Where are you going?' And he said, 'I'm going to my friend's house, so they can unlock me,'" said neighbor Katherine Reyes.
Witnesses say the boy hopped to a tree and was lying on the ground. A passerby noticed him and knocked on Jose Salinas' door to ask for help.
"He was on the ground and could definitely see a lot of fear in him, and he was crying," said Salinas. "He had the chains around his ankles. I even noticed his pants when they were on, it looked like one pant leg."
Police said Navarro told officers she couldn't afford to pay for a babysitter for two children. Navarro was taken into custody on suspicion of willful cruelty to a child. All three of her children are now in protective custody.
Cpl. Anthony Bertagna with the Santa Ana Police Department told ABC, "She thinks he may be getting into gangs and hanging out with the wrong crowd, possibly going to get involved in criminal activity, so apparently this was her last resort."
Some neighbors noticed the 10-year-old outside the apartment just before noon Thursday. Police allege his mother left him inside in his underwear and that he managed to pull jean shorts up over the chains with both his legs through one pant leg.
"He would hop, obviously because he couldn't walk and he would get tired, so he'd sit down and get back up. And then my mom asked him, 'Where are you going?' And he said, 'I'm going to my friend's house, so they can unlock me,'" said neighbor Katherine Reyes.
Witnesses say the boy hopped to a tree and was lying on the ground. A passerby noticed him and knocked on Jose Salinas' door to ask for help.
"He was on the ground and could definitely see a lot of fear in him, and he was crying," said Salinas. "He had the chains around his ankles. I even noticed his pants when they were on, it looked like one pant leg."
Police said Navarro told officers she couldn't afford to pay for a babysitter for two children. Navarro was taken into custody on suspicion of willful cruelty to a child. All three of her children are now in protective custody.
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