Florida couple arrested on child-abuse charges

from: Deseret Morning News

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A couple was arrested on neglect charges for allegedly forcing their malnourished 17-year-old adopted son to sleep in a locked cage. The teenager was wearing a diaper and weighed just 49 pounds when he was found.

Wilson and Brenda Sullivan were ordered jailed Wednesday on $200,000 bail.

Acting on a tip to a child-abuse hotline, child welfare workers went to the Sullivans' home Jan. 10. The teenager was 4-foot-6 and weighed as much as a 6 1/2-year-old, his physical and emotional growth stunted by abuse, investigators said.

The sheriff's office said the parents told investigators that the teen was forced to sleep in a criblike cage with a chained and locked wooden lid because he had behavioral problems and was overeating at night.