A little boy was found naked and locked inside a dirty cage in a Kentucky house of horrors.
The two-year-old boy was found by police “naked and locked behind a wood and metal enclosure secured with a padlock” in northern Kentucky on Monday, according to the Carrollton Police Department.
The grim discovery led to the arrest of five people, all charged with first-degree child abuse and wanton endangerment.
Brenda Chilton, 71, William Mahoney, 72, Codey Johnson, 29, Tammy Simmons, 52, and Shelby Turocy, 28, are currently being held at the Carroll County Jail.
Police responded to the 700 block of 7th Street in Carrollton on Monday in response to an advance tip from a delivery driver who made a stop at the home. WDRB reported.
A 2-year-old boy was found naked and locked inside a cage surrounded by human urine and feces inside a Carrollton, Kentucky, home Monday afternoon.
Five suspects were arrested after the grim discovery, including Brenda Chilton, 71, and William Mahoney, 72, who are charged with first-degree child abuse and wanton endangerment.
An image of the house shows weathered white wood paneling with a gray roof and a red garage next to it. Detective Dave Roberts of the Carrollton Police Department confirmed the address with DailyMail.com.
The complainant stated that a small child was “caged like an animal” inside the home. The mirror reported.
A search warrant led officers inside the home and directly to the grisly scene: a naked toddler locked inside a cage surrounded by human urine and feces, which were reportedly found throughout the room in which he lived. was held.
Jeremiah Reed, a neighbor, recalled hearing police tell residents, “You’re under arrest for child endangerment,” WDRB reported.
Two young children, including the two-year-old, were removed from the home by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and are now in the care of another family member.
Between eight and ten dogs were also found inside the house, all of them in poor health.
“There were like five or six dogs in a cage there,” Reed added.
Tammy Simmons, 52, and Codey Johnson, 29, were among the five arrested Monday and are also charged with first-degree child abuse and wanton endangerment.
Shelby Turocy, 28, was also arrested for first-degree child abuse and wanton endangerment, but also faces three additional charges.
All five suspects were booked into the Carroll County Detention Center without bond.
The boy’s great-grandmother, grandmother and father were among the five suspects arrested, WDRB reported.
‘It’s a shock!’ Darlene Simmons, another neighbor, told WDRB. “I never saw the children’s mother, I think they were given to their father.”
All face charges of first-degree child abuse of a child 12 years of age or younger and first-degree wanton endangerment, a charge that occurs when a person creates a substantial risk of serious injury or death to another while displaying contempt. extreme for human life.
One of the suspects, Turocy, 28, was also charged with possession of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and marijuana.
It is unclear if the boy needed any medical treatment following the shocking discovery or what the relationship was between the five adults.
The home, which is about 50 miles northeast of Louisville, has been declared uninhabitable by the city, WDRB reported.
The arrests come just months after Joshua Bowen, a 20-month-old baby, was found dead inside his home on Center Parkway in Lexington, Kentucky, in July. fox 56 reported.
Bowen was found malnourished and underweight with facial bruising in various stages of healing.
Turocy was additionally charged with possession of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and marijuana.
He suffered a “serious blunt injury to the eye that could have led to the cause of his death,” prompting the arrests of Kyle Guindon, 22, and Brianna Johnson, 27, on charges of first-degree child abuse of a minor the age of 12 years.
Kentucky continues to rank as one of the states with the highest rates of child abuse and neglect in the country.
About 15 out of every 1,000 children in Kentucky experienced some type of maltreatment in 2021, according to a report from the US Department of Health and Human Services Children’s Bureau.
“We’ve been number one just a few years ago and we’re still one of the worst in the country,” said Ben Kleppinger, communications director for CASA of Lexington. fox 56 in July of this year.
“Here in Kentucky we are almost double the national average in the number of children experiencing abuse and neglect.”
“It can range from a child not getting enough food, not having proper clothing or not having a safe place to sleep at night, to very extreme cases of sexual and physical abuse,” he added.
“Unfortunately, our family court system is so overloaded that social workers, judges and attorneys have many cases at the same time and really can’t dedicate that much time.”
The state relies heavily on CASA volunteers, people who advocate through the family court system to ensure that victims of child abuse and neglect are safe and thriving in a permanent home.
After the five arrests, authorities from the Carrollton Police Department emphasized the importance of community policing.
“If you see something, say it,” Dave Roberts, a detective who was at the scene, told WDRB.
“This case serves as a reminder of the vital role that bystanders can play in ensuring the safety and well-being of vulnerable children.”
The five suspects will be arraigned on their charges on Wednesday.