TAMPA, Fla. — A young boy was handcuffed and forced to stand in a closet for up to 16 hours a day for weeks, deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.
Now, a Tampa couple is behind bars, charged with child abuse and child neglect, according to investigators.
Deputies say they were first called to the Tampa home on Jan. 24, when they got reports of a missing child. They say they found the boy hiding in the home.
According to the sheriff's office, deputies returned to the home to investigate potential child abuse. Deputies say the child told them he had been handcuffed and locked inside a closet "as punishment." And, the child told deputies the punishment had been happening every day for almost 16 hours a day for several weeks, the sheriff's office said.
John Hernandez, 41, admitted to detectives he handcuffed the boy and put him in the closet as "punishment for behavioral issues" from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to a release.
Natasha Dabbs, 37, told detectives she knew about the punishment and didn't try to stop it, the sheriff's office said. Detectives say Dabbs told them it had been happening since Dec. 25.
Hernandez was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse (malicious punishment). And, Dabbs was arrested and charged with child neglect and failure to report child abuse, according to a release. Deputies say both were booked into the Orient Road Jail.
"The actions of this couple are reprehensible," said Sheriff Chad Chronister in a statement. "I am so proud of our deputies for noticing something was not right while they were at the initial call and following through. Their actions may have saved this young boy's life."
Deputies say the investigation is ongoing.
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