A Pennsylvania mother was arrested on child endangerment-related charges after she allegedly handcuffed her 11-year-old son to an oil tank in a basement while she was at work, prosecutors said.
Chazzity Candelario, 33, told police she would often restrain her son for up to two hours or lock him in a small utility closet inside their Lebanon home, according to court documents obtained by local outlets.
The deranged mom claimed she had a difficult time controlling her children while she was working.
“There’s a difference between respect for authority and disciplining your child and abuse. This is abuse,” Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf told Fox43.
“Leaving a kid from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. chained, handcuffed, it’s absolutely horrifying. I can’t imagine being that little boy and thinking this one person on earth, who is supposed to love me and care for me and protect me, this is what she thinks is appropriate to do to me.”
The Lebanon County Regional Police Department responded to the East Kercher Avenue home around 9:55 p.m. on Jan. 11 after receiving a report that a child was restrained to a bed, police said.
Police found the young boy handcuffed to the top railing of a bunk bed inside the home. The victim told officers that his mother had shackled him to a post in the basement where he managed to get free before accidentally cuffing himself to the bed, according to the complaint, WGAL reported.
The child also revealed that his mother would often handcuff his leg to the fuel tank in the basement for hours.
She was arrested on Monday and charged with endangering the welfare of a child, false imprisonment and unlawful restraint, according to prosecutors.
Candelario is being held at Lebanon County Prison on $100,000 bail.
She is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 23.
