Mother Accused Of Keeping Child In Dog Crate

OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. -- An Old Saybrook mother is out on bond after being charged with risk of injury to a minor.

Police said the woman kept her son in a dog crate because she was having trouble with his "defiant behavior."

Katy Anthony made her first appearance in Middlesex Superior Court on Monday afternoon.

Police said an investigation began last December when officers said the alleged victim's older sister told a school psychologist that she was tired because she'd been up several times during the night, letting her younger brother out of his "sleep locker."

Police said that the "sleep locker" was actually a dog crate.

It was inside a two-piece plastic dog crate that was 36 inches long, 22 inches wide and 30 inches high that Old Saybrook police said Anthony's adopted son was sleeping for one to two weeks at Anthony's Old Saybrook home.

The mother of two made her first court appearance on a risk of injury to a minor charge after turning herself in to police Sunday.

'The child was placed in a dog crate for various reasons, and (the Department of Children and Families) felt the need to investigate it further," said Sgt. Kevin Roche. "We felt the need to investigate further since it's not a normal cause of business."

An investigator from DCF who was assigned to the case reported the crate was moved from the boy's bedroom to the basement after an investigation was initiated.

According to arrest papers, Anthony initially "denied any sleep locker, but stated she has a problem with juvenile #1 and defiant behavior."

Anthony told an officer at her house "how she has been seeking assistance from outside agency's regarding juvenile #1's issues."

"She did make efforts to remediate some issues with the child, and I commend her for that, although it's not normal practice for a parent/guardian to put a child into a dog crate for an extended period of time," Roche said.

Anthony told police she got the idea to repurpose a large pet crate that the kids had played in when they had litters of kittens in there, that the crate had "good memories for both kids and the family and the gate was on the front of the crate, but she would leave it unsecured, yet shut."

But Anthony's daughter told police her brother "can't get out when in the sleep cubby as the door is closed and locked" and that she would lock her brother in "as mother got tired of doing it."

According to DCF reports, once the child was removed from the home, he appeared to be excited the next day and his principal stated he was having a great week at school.

Anthony did not comment outside of court.