A mother and her alleged boyfriend have been arrested after police found two young children chained up in a Virginia home.
Wendi Del Cid Rodriguez, 46, and Franklin Viera Guevara, 29, are charged with two counts of child neglect, two counts of child abuse and two counts of kidnapping after two boys, ages seven and nine, were found chained by their ankles to a pole.
The children had visible marks on their ankles that officers said matched the chains, Fox 5 reported.
The couple reportedly told detectives they had chained the boys up for “short periods of time” in an attempt to “scare” them into not leaving the house.
Rodriguez has been released on bail and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 2. Guevara remains in the Fairfax County Jail without bail.
Wendi Del Cid Rodriguez, 46, (left) and Franklin Viera Guevara, 29, (right) were arrested after police found two young boys, ages seven and nine, chained to a pole by their ankles in the alleged couple’s Groveton, Virginia, home.
Fairfax County police were called to an apartment in the 6700 block of Tower Drive (pictured) on August 15 for reports of alleged child abuse. When they arrived, officers knocked on the door and could hear the sound of chains rattling from inside. The door was opened and officers found two boys chained by their ankles to a pole
On August 15, Fairfax County police were called to an apartment in the 6700 block of Tower Drive in Groveton for reports of alleged child abuse.
When they arrived on scene, officers knocked on the door and heard the sound of rattling chains from inside, according to a police report obtained by Fox 5.
The door opened and officers found two boys chained by their ankles to a pole. A sleeping cot was placed near the chain.
Police were alerted to the alleged neglect after the sister of one of the boys contacted her, court documents state.
The child reportedly sent a photo of his chained ankle to his sister from a roommate’s phone, who then called 911.
The boys were left “unsupervised and tied up” when Rodriguez and Guevara were not home, the roommate told police.
Guevara faces a bail hearing today and a competency hearing is scheduled for next month.