FATHER OF 7 CHARGED WITH ABUSE

Seven children have been removed from a suburban couple's home after allegations that they were physically abused and locked inside a bedroom for 14 hours a day.

Five of the children -- who were adopted and had lived with the St. Francis couple as foster children -- are developmentally disabled. Three are brothers, ages 10, 9 and 8. The other two are girls, ages 8 and 4, and are not related to each other or to the boys.

The other two are foster children -- a 3 1/2-year-old girl and a 3-month-old boy -- and did not appear to be the victims of any maltreatment, officials said.

The father, a 54-year-old factory worker, has been charged with felony child abuse and has been ordered to appear at a preliminary hearing next week. He also has been prohibited from having contact with the adopted children without prior approval from a judge.

The mother in the case has not been charged.

"There were no dressers, chairs, clothes, toys, or pictures on the walls of the room," the complaint says.

One of the children told police a window in one room was nailed shut, so no one could get out. The closet doors were locked.