Parents charged after child found locked in cage in NE Philly
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Parents of the 6-year-old boy found locked in a dog cage at a Northeast Philadelphia home are now facing criminal charges, police said Friday.
Michelle Campbell, 30, and Paul Weber, 31, are charged with endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering a person, a police spokesperson said.
Police arrived at their home on the 4200 block of Glenview Street and found two girls, ages 3 and 5 wandering around near the back of the house.
Officers picked the girls up and entered the home, and that's where they found the 6-year-old boy in the cage. The cage was closed shut with a zip tie.
Neighbors say they often saw two of the three children who lived in that Tacony home wandering around outside, unsupervised. It was one neighbor's concerned call to 911 Thursday that brought officers out.
The children were taken to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children for an evaluation.
Police previously said the mother of the 6-year-old left him naked with a pillow and blanket while she was out. Police say the children's mother would often lock the little boy inside the dog cage when she left the home.
Police say an elderly woman who uses a wheelchair, identified as a grandmother to the children, was also found inside the home, along with a 40-year-old man – identified as an uncle.
In total, five children were living in the home. Two of them were at school when police arrived.
Since investigators flooded the front yard of the place on Thursday, people haven't stopped thinking about the kids.
"What they did, it's horrible, neighbor Tom McNamee said. "When you find out about a cage…no way."
While on the street speaking with neighbors, a worker who said he was with child protective services knocked on the door.
Nobody answered.
McNamee says the family has lived on Glenview Street t for about 15 years. He was unaware of what police have since revealed about the conditions inside. He told CBS News Philadelpha he thinks back to seeing the kids outside.
"They got a pool, out back, in the yard," he said. "Nobody ever watched them. The kids were in the pool. I'd say kids go, go, go back in the house."
Neighbors were disgusted by word of the allegations.
"It just boggles my mind they put their kids in cages," Hector Perez, a neighbor, said.
"It's horrifying," McNamee said. "Like I said, they're kids. I have grandkids and my own kids — when you find out the details, I don't know how a parent can let somebody do this."
Cash bail for Campbell and Weber was set at $22,500 and they'll face a judge next month.