2 Nebraska kids found caged in dog kennel

Published : Oct 27, 2011 - 17:09 Updated : Oct 27, 2011 - 17:09

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) - Four children were removed from what authorities described as a filthy Nebraska trailer home where a 3-year-old boy and his 5-year-old brother were kept in a wire dog kennel, police said Tuesday.

North Platte officers went to the home late Monday after receiving a call from someone asking that police check on the welfare of the children living there, police Lt. Rich Hoaglund said. When officers went inside, they were met with the stench of urine and found trash and animal feces throughout the home, Hoaglund said.

An officer soon found two boys, ages 3 and 5, in a 30-by-42-inch wire dog kennel.

"They had a small child's mattress in there, and that's where both kids were sleeping," Hoaglund said. "The gate on that door was wired shut."

The children's mother, 22-year-old Ashly Clark, told officers she put her boys in the kennel at night to keep them from climbing out of the trailer through a window, Hoaglund said.

A couple — 25-year-old Bryson Eyten and 24-year-old Samantha Eyten — also lived in the trailer with their 8-year-old and 8-month-old children. Hoaglund said those children were not kept in the kennel.

Hoaglund said that while the children were living in filthy conditions, there was no evidence to suggest they had been physically abused or were malnourished.

Clark, the Eytens and 20-year-old Lacy Beyer, who police said also lived in the trailer, were arrested Monday night and charged Tuesday with two counts of first-degree false imprisonment, two counts of felony child abuse and misdemeanor child abuse, based on the condition of the house. The children have been placed with state authorities.

"All of the adults were aware of the situation and were aware of the kids were being housed in the animal kennel and did nothing to stop it or report it," he said.

All four made initial appearances in court Tuesday afternoon, and bail was set at $50,000 for each.

Lincoln County Attorney Rebecca Harling said each of the four asked for a public defender during the court hearing Tuesday.

"They were ordered to have no contact with the four children taken into custody," Harling said.

<한글기사>

비정母 아이 둘을 개집에 감금

미국 네브래스카주 노스플랫에서 쇠창살로 된 개집에 살던 3세와 5세의 남자 어린이 2명이 구조됐다고 CBS 뉴스가 27 일 보도했다.

CBS에 따르면 현지 경찰은 지난 24일 열악한 이동식 트레일러에 사는 어린이들 의 상태를 확인해달라는 제보전화를 받고 출동해 가로 76㎝, 세로 106㎝가량의 개집 에서 이들을 발견했다.

두 어린이의 어머니 애슐리 클라크(22)는 경찰 조사에서 어린이들이 창문을 통해 트레일러 밖으로 기어오르는 것을 막으려고 밤에 이들을 개집에 넣었다고 말한 것으로 전해졌다.

트레일러에는 이들 외에도 브라이슨 이튼(25)-사만사 이튼(24) 부부와 8세와 8개월 된 이들의 두 자녀도 함께 생활하고 있었다. 이들 어린이 4명은 모두 정부의 보호를 받고 있다.

클라크와 이튼 부부, 그리고 이들과 함께 사는 레이시 베이어(20) 등 4명은 24 일 구속돼 다음날 부당감금과 아동학대 혐의로 기소됐다. 법원은 보석금을 1인당 5만달러로 정했다.