A couple who are biological scientists at the University of Florida are facing felony charges after it was discovered that they allegedly kept their youngsters in cages.
The parents have a 2-year-old and a 6-year-old. Recently, the older child was at school when he reportedly became upset about going back home. He reportedly told his teacher that he gets locked in a cage, and his younger sibling gets trapped under an overturned crib.
Their father works at the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and their mother works as a safety manager at the Plant Pathology Department. According to reports, the 6-year-old said his dad leaves him locked in the cage while his mother is at work.
The school notified the Department of Children and Families, and a social worker visited the home with a police officer. While there, they allegedly saw a crib with exposed metal springs turned upside down in a closet. The 6-year-old reportedly said the baby was left there at night.
When the mother was asked about the situation, she said they were unable to find care for the 6-year-old because he has ADHD, and he is difficult to handle. She also allegedly said they kept the baby in the overturned crib so that he would not crawl out at night.
Both parents were taken into custody and booked into the Alachua County Jail. They are each facing preliminary charges of two felony counts of aggravated child abuse and one felony count of child neglect. They were both incarcerated in lieu of $600,000 bonds.
The children’s mother has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and her attorney reported that the situation was not as it seems. It is unknown if the father has retained legal counsel, but when this was written, he had not entered a plea.
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