Two Vietnamese parents were arrested Tuesday night on suspicions of keeping their 11-year-old autistic son locked in a cage, possibly in an effort to control his violent outbursts, Anaheim police said. The boy has since been removed from the Southern California home.
Loi Vu, 40, and Tracy Trang Le, 35, were charged with child endangerment and false imprisonment after child protective services received an anonymous tip that a boy was being kept in a large dog kennel, said Anaheim police Lt. Bob Dunn. Upon being ignored by the parents, who do not speak English, CPS was forced to dispatch the police to their home in the 1300 block of Garrett Street, CBS News reported.
"Once inside... [officers] found that there was a cage in one of the bedrooms. Inside that cage was a mattress and it appears to the investigation, at this particular point, that [the boy] was being kept in that cage," Dunn said, according to the station. "There's varied reports on how long this was going on."
The boy, who is unable to communicate and suffers from violent episodes, was known to have grown more violent over the years, with investigators suspecting that his parents may have kept him in the cage in an effort to control him from attacking his two younger siblings, Dunn said.
The cage was described to be big enough for the boy to not be forced into an "unnatural position," according to Los Angeles Times. Apart from that, there were no other signs of potential abuse, Dunn said, adding that the boy was well nourished and had no visible injuries. He was, however, transported to a local hospital to ensure that he was physically OK.
Other relatives were discovered to be living in the home along with a second family that's renting a room, Dunn said. Police are trying to reach the second family, who are out of town, for an interview. In the meantime, investigators were expected to begin interviewing neighbors Wednesday.
The boy and his two siblings are now in the custody of child protective services.
