This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.
From Old Saybrook, Connecticut, 54-year-old adoptive mother Kathlyn Anthony “was in court on Monday charged with risk of injury to a minor after she allegedly put her son in the plastic and metal crate at night for around two weeks.” This was allegedly for punishment for soiling the bed. She was arrested on March 6, 2011.
Police say that Anthony “‘Sought out some other remedies, different agencies and different ways of correcting the issue – and it didn’t work.”
Mother Kathlyn Anthony ‘Kept Adopted Son in a Dog Cage’ After He Soiled Bed
[Daily Mail 3/9/11]
“She also told police that she chose the pet crate because the children had played in it when the family kept litters of kittens inside, WFSB said. The crate had “good memories for both kids and the family.”
She was released on $100,000 bond.
Woman locked up son in dog crate, police say
[MSNBC 3/8/11]
Update:The following details emerge from the arrest warrant:
· “The middle school girl, who was born in 2000, told the psychologist she was tired because she had been up several times during the night to let her brother out of the crate.”
· “On Dec. 15, 2010, James Kiako, school resource officer at the Kathleen E. Goodwin Elementary School, was notified of the allegation by a psychologist at the Old Saybrook Middle School.”
· Anthony said the boy born in 2004 “was exhibiting defiant behavior and was urinating and defecating in his bedroom. She said she placed a tarp on the bedroom floor to prevent the biological fluids from further ruining the carpet.” She replaced the mattress with a sleeping bag
· “Anthony told Kiako that she believed the boy was doing it on purpose. She said she adopted the boy when he was 3, and that he was diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder.”
· DCF was contacted and the child removed on December 21, 2010
· “On Dec. 22, Grimm contacted Kiako and said she spoke with the boy’s sister. She confirmed that the boy was sleeping in a dog crate in his bedroom. The dog crate was removed from the bedroom and placed in the basement at about the time the investigation began, the warrant said.
· Kiako and Grimm went to Anthony’s residence to inform her of DCF’s action. She became upset, saying she was doing her best to help the boy with his condition and that she made the dog crate “fun” by putting stuffed animals inside of it. She never explained why she didn’t tell police about the crate in the first place, the warrant said.”
· Kiako re-interviewed Anthony at her residence on Jan. 11. She provided a written statement, saying that she provided the boy with a foster home when he was 2 years old and adopted him when he was 3.She said the boy’s behavior grew increasingly worse, and that she sought help through Old Saybrook Youth and Family Services. Anthony said the service providers there “seemed to not know what to do either,” the warrant said. She said she tried various things to help the boy from soiling his bedroom and got the idea of using the dog crate because it brought fond memories for the children. She said she raised litters of kittens in the crate.
· She said she used the crate for one to two weeks and denied locking it. She also showed police the various enrichment programs and home therapy methods she employed to help the boy.
· Kiako saw Grimm’s DCF report. The girl told Grimm that when the boy is bad or pees in his room, he has to take a cold shower. The girl also said in the report that the boy could not get out of the crate because it was locked.
· Grimm’s interview with the boy revealed that he was not always able to eat his dinner and that he was not allowed to drink anything after a certain time so that he wouldn’t go the bathroom, the warrant said. He said his meals were much smaller than those Anthony and his sister ate. “Juvenile #1 indicated eating a portion of dinner, the size of Juvenile #1’s hand or smaller,” the warrant said.
· After being removed from Anthony’s home, the boy appeared to be excited the next day. He was happy because he had a packed lunch that included juice boxes, which he normally does not get, the warrant said. The boy’s school principal said that the boy was having a “great week” and not hoarding any food. The DCF report also noted that during the two weeks since the boy was removed from the home, he only had a couple of bed-wetting incidents, the warrant said.”
Anthony is “scheduled to appear in Middletown Superior Court on April 8.”
[The Day 3/9/11 by Izaskun E. Larrañeta]
Update 2/February 25, 2012: No news articles were published on this case. Through a Middlesex County Convicted Case public search, we found the following:
She pled guilty on 11/17/11 to one misdemeanor count of “53a-64 Reckless Endangerment 2nd Deg B ” and was also sentenced on 11/17/11 to “ 6 Months Jail, Execution Suspended, Probation 2 Years”
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