An Ohio couple have been arrested after their 10-year-old son escaped from the small dog cage in which he was locked and ran away to a neighbor's house. The boy told police he was often put into the two-foot high by two-foot wide cage with locks on each end and sometimes forced to wear a shock collar.
Jessica Botzko, 28, and John Westover, 37, were charged with child endangerment. Authorities said the couple forced their 10-year-old to stay in the cage when he was being punished and when his father used drugs. The couple is also accused of using and making drugs in front of their five-year-old son.
"He had to tuck his knees into his chest, and he fell asleep in there on a couple occasions," Captain Ray Carroll of the Toledo Police said. "It wasn't continuous. It was probably on and off for punishment."
According to court papers filed in the case, the older boy was repeatedly shocked through a remote-controlled device used to train animals. Neighbors told reporters the boys were never allowed to leave their mobile home and were never seen outside.
The 10-year-old told investigators that he decided to run away because he was tired of being caged.
