Six-Year-Old Boy Found Locked in Dog Cage Inside Philadelphia Home

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By Jo Anne Hubert , Parent Herald Mar 28, 10:14 am

Photo: (Photo : Getty Images/ Mark Makela)

Authorities found a six-year-old naked child locked inside a dog cage in their home in Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Police Department officers responded to a residence on 4200 block Glenview Street at 12:52 P.M. following a report from a neighbor, Hector Perez, who called 911 about two little girls screaming for their mom and dad and standing in the rain in the backyard only wearing diapers.

When they arrived, they found the two children, ages four and five, crying and wandering around the back of the house.

However, that was not the worse, as authorities discovered a third child inside the home - a naked boy locked in a dog cage secured with a zip tie, NBC Philadelphia reported.

All children were evaluated at a nearby hospital, yet their conditions were not discussed in the open. Police officers, though, assured the public that none of the kids were physically harmed.

The child allegedly has autism

Aside from the children, investigators also found a 40-year-old man upstairs with intellectual disabilities and an elderly woman in a wheelchair, believed to be the kids' grandmother or great-grandmother, who was also taken to the hospital for evaluation.

"We don't know entirely everything that's going on here. But obviously, we don't live in a world where under any situation whatsoever we should have a child inside of a cage or young children outside standing in the rain," declared Philadelphia Police Public Information Officer Eric Gripp, who also stated that a lengthy investigation would be happening.

According to the neighbors who talked with the news outlet, the boy found inside the cage has autism. Authorities have yet to confirm this information.

In connection to the case, Gripp announced that 30-year-old Michelle Campbell and 31-year-old Paul Weber are facing charges of endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering a person.

The Daily Mail reported that the authorities searched for the kids' father.

A woman, who introduced herself as the mother of one of the children, was also on the scene and was taken to the Special Victims Unit for interrogation. As of writing, no charges have been placed against her.

An 'ongoing' incident

According to Perez, he was coming home from work when he was horrified to see two little girls in his neighbor's backyard, crying and screaming for their mother and father in the pouring rain without any shirts, pants, or shoes. The kids were only wearing diapers.

He further revealed that this kind of situation has been "ongoing" and that the kids have "mental issues." All the neighbors know about it, and police have been in the place back and forth, yet "nothing has ever been done."

A neighbor also stated that the Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS) had visited the home before. However, according to NBC News, the department declined to comment on whether the suspects already had a history of complaints against them.

A spokesperson from DHS stated that they could not comment on the issue based on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania confidentiality laws.