Wyoming couple kept 7-year old boy in outdoor cage for weeks...

[Archae]

Sheriff: Wyoming pair kept child in outdoor cage

Posted: Aug 05, 2014 1:23 PM CDT

Updated: Aug 05, 2014 1:34 PM CDT

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - A Wyoming man and a woman face felony charges on allegations that they kept the woman's 7-year-old in an outdoor cage on and off for three weeks, forcing the child to sleep in the enclosure even during rainstorms.

Deputies who went to the rural property outside Laramie on a tip last month say they found a wooden and metal cage outside the home. The enclosure contained a cot, a toothbrush, a bucket and other items.

Court documents say the mother referred to it as a playpen and said the child was kept there because of misbehavior. The man told deputies he disliked the child but kept the child in the cage to ensure safety, according to an affidavit.

The man and woman, who lived inside, each face one count of child abuse and three counts of felonious restraint, the Laramie Boomerang reported (http://bit.ly/1o98TW7).

http://www.wbay.com/story/26202917/sheriff-wyoming-pair-kept-child-in-outdoor-cage

[TDale313]

1. How the fuck do you "dislike"

a seven year old kid enough to force them to live in a cage?!?. Sometimes people just suck.

[Gormy Cuss]

10. Never mind that ---how as a parent do you stay with someone who "dislikes" your child that much?

How the hell do you live with yourself, sleeping indoors while the kid is outside in cage with a roof?
Suckage abounds in that household.

[BrotherIvan]

12. Some parents will stay with a spouse that abuses their child

I've never understood that. But it happens all the time.

[Gormy Cuss]

13. Yes, I'm well aware of that.

It is however a sign of dysfunction, just as the case here.

[joeybee12]

11. Yup, that word stuck out to me, too...

Phucking idiots...hopefully this will mean a better life for the boy.

[SidDithers]

2. I'm going to go way, way, way out on a limb here...

and speculate that the man and woman might have a substance abuse problem.

That's the only thing my brain can come up with, that would cause people to inflict such suffering and neglect on a child.

Sid

[catbyte]

6. That pic is hilarious!

[herding cats]

3. The pool little guy!

People who do things like this to children deserve the maximum sentence. They treated him as if he were some dog that they didn't really want.

Documents say that police spoke with the boy that day, who told them he had been in the cage for a few weeks. The child told officers that Harman and Smith put him in the cage because Smith wanted him to be in it. He also told authorities that he would sleep in the cage but used to sleep on the floor in the apartment or on the couch. He also said sometimes his mom would let him out of the cage when Smith was not around. He also said they usually brought him food at least once a day. The boy told authorities that when it rained he would have to stay outside, but that he had a roof now because he was good. In addition, he informed police that sometimes Harman and Smith would kick him when he was bad.

Harman and Smith were also questioned separately on Thursday, July 24. Both told authorities that they kept the child in the cage or “play pen” for his own good. They said that he would get into trouble if they weren’t watching him, so they had to keep him in it. According to the documents, Harman told officers that Smith had built the cage in June. She said that she would bring the boy in when it was supposed to rain, but could think of at least one time when she did not. She said that she knew they had made it impossible for the child to escape the cage, but she would let him out when Smith was not home.

According to the affidavit, Smith told authorities that he had originally built the cage for the dog, but the child liked to be in the cage. He said that the boy would usually just sit in the cage and not speak with him. Smith continued to mention that the boy was not his child and they did not like one another.

In addition, the affidavit released by District Court outlines seven welfare checks and one report of abuse ranging from August 2013 until May 2014. Complaints included the boy having injuries from possible abuse, wearing the same clothes to school multiple days in a row, his smelling of urine, not attending school and his being hungry and saying he did not eat much at home.


Read More: Two Accused Of Keeping Child In Cage | http://kowb1290.com/two-accused-of-keeping-child-in-cage/?trackback=tsmclip

[awoke_in_2003]

8. These people need to be locked up for life...

and sterilized, just to be sure.

[MohRokTah]

4. Same county as the Mathew Shepard incident. eom

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. Fattening him for Thanksgiving?

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. playpen huh?

[KamaAina]

9. This happens to Autistic kids more often than you might think.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014426465

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025185032



One wonders if this "misbehaving" kid might have gone undiagnosed.