Mom & 2 Grandparents Accused of Keeping 5 Kids in Locked 'Crib Cages'
Lee County Sheriff's Office Investigations/FacebookPolice made a shocking discovery Monday at a home in Smiths Station, Alabama, after a mother and two grandparents were accused of locking children in wooden cages. Thirty-year-old Kylla Michelle Mann, 66-year-old Pamela Deloris Bond, and 69-year-old James H. Bond have all been taken into custody and are being charged with child abuse.
The cages were found Monday, when officers from the Lee County Sheriff's Office made a home visit.
Authorities and child welfare workers had been asked to check on a possible abuse case, according to CBS News. When they arrived, they were able to make contact with the four kids in question -- ages 11, 10, 4, and 3.
In searching the home, however, they found something deeply disturbing: two wooden cages with locks.
Police learned that the children had been held in the cages several times in the past.
A photo of one of the cages showed that it was a crib-shaped wooden structure with hasps and locks. Mattresses and blankets were inside the cage, as well as a slatted lid that opened and closed. A second photo showed what appeared to be an actual crib with a slatted lid, which was closed and locked.
Police learned an 8-month-old child also lived in the family home, but the baby was not there when police arrived. The infant and the four other children have been taken into custody by the Lee County Department of Human Resources.
All three adults who were in the home at the time were arrested and taken into custody Wednesday.
They were each charged with two counts of aggravated abuse of a child less than 6 years of age and two counts of reckless endangerment.
Pamela Bond received an extra charge -- one count of tampering with physical evidence -- and her bail was set at $123,000. Bail for Mann and James Bond was set at $122,000.
It's unclear what motivated the family to make the cages or if the children endured any other physical abuse while living in the home.
