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ST. MARY’S COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — A 28-year-old mother and her boyfriend are facing charges after police said they kept a 4-year-old child in a dark closet in their St. Mary’s County home.
Deputies found the 4-year-old in the closet on Monday after responding to a report of child abuse in the 20000 block of Roh Ranch Lane in Callaway, according to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies said that a bungee cord was securing the door shut.
Officials took the child for medical evaluation, and investigators obtained a search warrant.
While searching the residence, deputies reported finding the closet in “deplorable” condition, with no working light or food.
The sheriff’s office said the child’s mother, Kaylynn Nicole Moore, told deputies that the 4-year-old was left in the closet for about twelve hours daily.
Moore’s boyfriend, 27-year-old James Earl Stone, admitted to using the bungee cord to secure the closet door, according to authorities. Stone also lived in the home, along with four other children and one other adult.
Deputies noted that the four other children did not require medical attention. At this time, the identity of the other adult living in the home remains unclear.
As a result of the investigation, Moore and Stone were charged with child abuse and seven counts of child neglect.
Authorities transported the pair to the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center, where they await bond hearings.
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