A mother and her partner were arrested after officers found two little boys chained up in an apartment in the Groveton area of Fairfax County, Virginia, authorities said.
The mother and partner were arrested Aug. 15 and the boys, age 9 and 7, are safe and living with their father, police told News4.
The 9-year-old told News4 police were alerted when the child borrowed a cellphone and called an adult, sending a picture of the handcuffs and chains.
Officers rescued the brothers after the adult called for help.
The boys' father, who does not live at the apartment and is not charged, said his sons did not tell him when they visited him that they were being chained. News4 is not sharing his name, to protect the identity of the children.
“When I heard, I was like, Wow, why did this happen? Children don’t deserve to be treated like this. We don’t have the right to treat them like this. Maybe a criminal, but not innocent children. They’re children," he said in Spanish.
'It infuriates me inside that people would actually do that to children'
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A search warrant filed by Fairfax County police says both children were chained to a table next to where they slept. They would remain chained until 3 to 6 p.m., when adults arrived home.
The older brother told Telemundo44 that he was chained up after he went outside without asking.
The boy said he could only take six to seven steps while chained and is relieved to be in his father’s care.
One woman, who asked News4 to protect her identity, said she spoke to the person who called the police. She said the kids called her for help and showed her the photo the child sent.
"I was shocked, scared. They don’t even tie up animals like this. It was a huge chain. It was four times bigger than a door chain. I told her that‘s inhumane," the woman said in Spanish.
Franklin Viera Guevara, 29, and Wedni Del Cid Rodriguez, 46, were charged with child cruelty, child neglect and abduction.
A neighbor and young father who watched the arrests unfold was horrified to learn what had been going on nearby.
“It infuriates me inside that people would actually do that to children,” he said.
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News4 doesn’t yet know for how many days or weeks the boys were chained up. Neighbors said the children attended school last school year.
Their mother is back in the apartment after bonding out. Viera Guevara, the man arrested, was held without bond.
News4 knocked on the apartment door where the boys’ mother lives to see if she wanted to comment on the charges but she did not answer.
