Parents Kept Kids Locked Up in Dog Cage
Omaha police took 4 adults into custody Monday night for keeping two small boys locked up in a dog kennel.
The boys, ages 3 and 5, had been placed inside a 42 by 28 by 30 inch kennel, which is normally used to house a dog.
Both boys slept inside the kennel on a small mattress.
“They had a small child’s mattress in there and that’s where both kids were sleeping,” police Lt. Rich Hoaglund told the Associated Press.
“The gate on that door was wired shut.”
The two boys and two other children living in the trailer home were placed with state authorities.
Police took four adults into custody, Bryson L. Eyten, 25; Samantha J. Eyten, 24; Ashly A. Clark, 22; and Lacy J. Beyer, 20, were arrested at the home at 2421 East E St. on Monday night.
They were charged on Tuesday with two counts of felony child abuse, two counts of false imprisonment, and misdemeanor child abuse based on their living conditions.
The mother of the two boys, Ashly Clark, told officers that her sons were put in the kennel to sleep and to prevent them from crawling out the windows of the home.
Bryson and Samantha Eyten were the parents of the other children, ages 8 months and 8 years. Although the other two children were not locked up in the kennel, authorities said that they were living in unsanitary, unsafe conditions.
The police said they originally went to the residence after getting a call from a concerned citizen. Police said when they arrived they noticed that there was trash, dirty clothing, food, urine and animal feces throughout the residence.
“It seemed like they were always yelling at the kids,” said a neighbor who did not want to be identified.
All four adults appeared at the Lincoln County Court on Tuesday before Judge Michael Piccolo, who set bail for each at $50,000, reported the Omaha World Herald.
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services took the children into emergency custody.