A mother and her boyfriend have been charged after a four-year-old boy was found locked inside a closet covered in faeces at a home in Callaway, Maryland.
Police response and discovery
Police responded to a call on July 20 at the 20000 block of Roh Ranch Lane. Deputies were given consent to enter and found a closet door secured by a bungee cord. Inside, the child was discovered nude and lying on debris and trash, according to charging documents obtained by CBS News' WJZ Investigates.
One deputy said: "I observed the walls were painted black. I couldn't see the floor due to the amount of refuse, food wrappers, dirty diapers and faeces, etc. that covered the floor." Another officer added: "There was a television fixed to the wall which appeared to be left on continuously."
Admissions and charges
The 28-year-old mother, Kaylynn Nicole Moore, told deputies the child was left in the closet daily for approximately 12 hours and had been kept there for about a year. She said he was removed during the day when he knocked or called for them. Moore stated her son has special needs and was secured in the closet due to his history of eloping.
Her boyfriend, 27-year-old James Earl Stone, also lived in the home and admitted to using the bungee cord to secure the closet door. The child was taken for medical evaluation. Four other children aged 11, eight, one and seven months lived in the home and did not require medical evaluation.
Moore and Stone were charged with child abuse and seven counts of child neglect. They were taken to St. Mary's County Detention and Rehabilitation Centre in Leonardtown to await bond hearings.
