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29 March 2024

Parents lock children in cage as punishment

The children are ages 6, 10 and 13, and their parents, Linda Chamberlain, 34, and Nicholas Chamberlain, 36, are accused of locking them inside a dog cage in their Huntingdon County cellar as a form of punishment. (AP)

Published
By AP

Pennsylvania police say a couple locked their children in a basement dog cage as punishment and even left their 6-year-old inside a cage overnight.

Thirty-six-year-old Nicholas Chamberlain and 34-year-old Linda Chamberlain were charged last week.

State police troopers say the investigation began June 19 when police responded to a call of a child refusing to return home in Huntingdon County. Police say the couple’s 13-year-old child escaped to a neighbor’s house to call police after the 6-year-old was locked in the cage overnight.

The couple also has a 10-year-old.

Online court records don’t list attorneys for the Chamberlains, who remain jailed Monday and face a preliminary hearing Aug. 3.

Both are charged with false imprisonment and endangering the welfare of children. Nicholas Chamberlain is also charged with simple assault.

Men shocked kids with stun gun for discipline

Authorities in Florida say four adults have been arrested for using a stun gun to discipline children living in their home.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said in news release that 22-year-old Eduardo Vazquez and 22-year-old William Torres-Morales were arrested Thursday on aggravated child abuse and other charges.

The report says the suspects admitted using a stun gun to discipline the children, including instances when male children failed to do a certain number of pushups.

The statement indicated seven children had burns consistent with stun-gun injuries.

Deputies say the suspects’ girlfriends, 33-year-old Elizabeth Tarvin and 32-year-old Veronica Sanchez, knew about the abuse but didn’t stop it. The women face charges of negligent child abuse and failure to report child abuse.

The investigation began this month after deputies received a referral from the Department of Children and Families in reference to child abuse allegations. All four suspects were living together at the home.

Two of the children were removed from the home following the allegations. The news release, citing information in affidavits, said one of the children had “fifteen two-prong burns over on his buttocks, that were consistent” with a stun-gun injury.

It’s unclear whether the suspects have attorneys.