SerpApi.Org
The couple were charged with child abuse and seven counts of child neglect
NEED TO KNOW
- A 4-year-old boy from Maryland was found by police locked in a filthy closet secured with a bungee cord
- The boy’s mother, Kaylynn Nicole Moore, 28, admitted he was kept in the closet for 12 hours a day for about a year, according to a charging document
- Moore and her boyfriend, James Earl Stone, were charged with child abuse and seven counts of child neglect
A mother and her boyfriend are facing a string of child abuse and child neglect charges after a 4-year-old boy was found locked inside a filthy closet in Maryland.
Police were called to the 20000 block of Roh Ranch Lane in Callaway on Monday, July 20, to a report of a child being held in a closet, according to a St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office press release.
Authorities found the boy inside a closet, which was secured with a bungee cord. They later found the area had no working light and did not observe any edible food inside the closet.
Charging documents obtained by CBS News’ WJZ Investigates stated that the police discovered the young boy “was nude and lying on debris and trash.”
A deputy wrote: “I observed the walls were painted black. I couldn’t see the floor due to the amount of refuse, food wrappers, dirty diapers and feces, etc. that covered the floor.”
The boy’s mother, Kaylynn Nicole Moore, 28, told officers that the boy was left in the closet for 12 hours a day. “There was a television fixed to the wall which appeared to be left on continuously,” an officer wrote on the document.
Moore also told police that she had been keeping the child in the closet for approximately one year. She said he stayed in there overnight and is “removed during the day when he knocks on the door or calls for them.”
Moore’s boyfriend, James Earl Stone, 27, who also lived in the home, admitted to using the bungee cord to secure the closet door, per the release.
Moore described her own home as “so hazardous” in the charging document and advised that there were rat or mouse feces and roaches in the property.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
There were also four other children living at the house, aged 11, 8, 1 and 7 months.
The 4-year-old boy was taken away for medical evaluation. Police said the other kids did not need medical attention, per the release.
The mother told authorities that her son had “special needs,” according to the charging document, which stated: “Kaylynn admitted to securing her four-year-old son in the bedroom closet due to his history of eloping.”
Moore and Stone were charged with child abuse and seven counts of child neglect. They were transported to the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Leonardtown to await bond hearings.
Read the original article on People
