A grandmother and her partner have been charged after keeping her nine-year-old granddaughter padlocked in a dog cage.
U.S. officials said in a statement: ‘During the investigation, it was learned that a nine-year-old juvenile was being held in a dog kennel at night and occasionally throughout the day.’
Police obtained a photo of the disturbing scene which reveal that there were blankets inside the cage along with a folded cardboard box.
Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling described the scene: ‘This by far, is one of the most disturbing and heart-wrenching cases of child abuse I’ve seen, it doesn’t get much worse than this.’
The New York Post reported that the incident first came to the attention of the police after a school contacted them in regards to a child abuse investigation.
The suspects, Gale D. Lalonde, 47, and Dale A. Deavers, 48 were taken into custody for causing mental harm to a child, false imprisonment and other charges.