A Pennsylvania mom was arrested after she allegedly handcuffed her 11-year-old son to an oil tank in the basement while she was at work. Chazzity Candelario, 33, admitted to officers that she would either chain her son for up to two hours or confine him to a utility room in their home in Lebanon County.
Police were called to the scene shortly before 10 p.m. on January 11 after receiving reports of a child being chained to his bed. When officers arrived, they found the boy handcuffed to the railing of a top bunk bed inside the home. The boy was not shouting but got scared after seeing the cops.
Inhuman Mom
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According to a criminal complaint obtained by WGAL, the child told police that his mother had earlier tied him to a post in the basement, but he managed to free himself. He then accidentally locked himself to the bed frame with the handcuffs.
The boy also revealed that his mother would often chain him to the fuel tank in the basement for up to two hours at a time.
When questioned, Candelario admitted to handcuffing her son to the tank and confining him in the small utility room.
She has now been charged with unlawful restraint of a minor, false imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child. According to Fox43, Candelario monitored her son’s eating habits by watching the cameras inside the house.
Punishing Her Son Without any Solid Reason
In the early hours of January 11, she reportedly woke up to punish the boy for an “eating infraction” after he consumed too many hot dogs. She then chained him up before leaving the house for the rest of the day.
When police arrived later that night, she still hadn’t returned home. Candelario later told officers that she struggles to manage her children while working.
Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf condemned the situation, saying, “There’s a difference between respect for authority and disciplining your child and abuse. This is abuse. Leaving a kid from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. chained, handcuffed, it’s absolutely horrifying.”
She added: “I can’t imagine being that little boy and thinking this one person on earth, who is supposed to love me and care for me and protect me, this is what she thinks is appropriate to do to me.”
Candelario was released on January 16 after posting $100,000 bail, according to court records. She is set to appear in court again on January 23.
