Police: Boy Held, Beaten For A Week By Father And Godfather
Updated 06/27/14 - 11:27 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two men have been charged with kidnapping after a bizarre incident on the Northwest Side.
CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports a 15-year-old boy told police he was held captive in the basement of an Avondale business for a week by his father and godfather.
The door to the basement of that business was boarded up Friday morning. Police said the boy was held in the basement for a week; handcuffed to a table saw, and regularly beaten with a belt.
Police found evidence linking the boy's father, 40-year-old Jose Quilambaqui, and godfather, 53-year-old Carlos Quizhpi, to the crime. Both men have been charged with kidnapping. A police spokeswoman said their motive was to punish the boy for misbehaving.
The boy was recovering at his brother's house on Friday.
Once police arrived at the house, the boy was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for injuries that included bruises to his upper thighs.
Quilambaqui and Quizhpi were arrested after police found evidence linking them to the abuse. On Thursday, they appeared in court, where a judge set their bond at $90,000 each. They face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors said, on June 15, the boy stole money from his godfather, who contacted the boy's father.
The next day, Quizhpi allegedly brought the boy to his barber shop, handcuffed the boy's arms behind his back, and forced him to sleep in the basement. The boy allegedly was left without shoes or socks.
The next morning, Quizhpi allegedly forced the boy to strip down to his underwear, and sprayed him with a hose, then forced him to wash himself with a bar of soap.
Quizhpi and Quilambaqui allegedly forced the boy to kneel and beg for forgiveness while they beat him with a belt.
The boy allegedly spent the day working for his godfather, before he was handcuffed again for the night.
Throughout the next several days, Quizhpi and Quilambaqui allegedly dumped buckets of ice water on the boy, struck him with a belt, forced him to work in the barber shop, and handcuffed him to the table saw in the basement each night.
Prosecutors said a person who worked for Quizhpi as a contractor and handyman helped the boy escape Monday through the back door of the barber shop, which had been screwed shut. That worker took the boy to his house, and then the worker and his girlfriend took the boy to a co-worker's house, where they called police.
A longtime employee, however, said the allegations are false.
"I really hope that everything gets cleared out, and the truth really comes out," she said.
The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she knows Quilambaqui and Quizhpi, and they are not the monsters prosecutors have made them out to be.
"The two men that are accused; they're very well- known as respecting, loving people. This whole community knows them. They help out a lot," she said.
She said any actions they took against the boy – who she also knows – were made out of desperation and love.
"They were just trying to help out the boy stay away from drugs, from gangs, many other problems he was headed towards – stealing. He was robbing," she said.