By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
DeKalb County, Mo. —Two Maysville, Missouri women who admit they locked a 9-year-old autistic child in a cage have been charged with child abuse.
The Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office reports the child’s mother, 35-year-old Katrina England, and her wife, 39-year-old Debra England, have been charged with child abuse and child endangerment
The office says deputies and workers with the Children’s Division responded to allegations of abuse, neglect, unsanitary living conditions, and possible drug use at a Maysville home (70 miles north of Kansas City)
Deputies found the child's bunk style bed was fashioned with 2x4's running vertical on the bottom bunk to keep the child from escaping, along with a plywood door. The bottom bunk did not have a mattress, only a sleeping bag.
Deputies says the house had animal feces, urine stains, and cigarette butts scattered on the floor, as well as cockroaches and unsanitary conditions in the kitchen. Trash was piled on the front porch. Ceiling rafters were visible in the living room.
According to the sheriff’s office, the two women admitted they locked the child in the cage for 12 hours at a time. The child was also left in a locked cage when the house was empty.
Deputies arrested the women. The child has been taken into protective custody with the Department of Social Services.