Detroit — Two pensioners were arrested and charged for unlawful imprisonment and misdemeanor abuse of a vulnerable adult after allegedly locking up a 19-year-old boy with autism in a cage.
Karen Tolin, 65, and Timothy Tonlin, 66, were arrested after authorities found the boy locked up in a makeshift cage inside a house 90 miles north of Detroit. They are currently being detained at the Huron County Jail.
Three other adults were removed from the property Oct. 20, while two other children were taken into protection services after a court ruling was released five days later.
According to Huron County Sheriff Kelly J. Hanson, the arrest was made after a deputy responded to a civil dispute that reportedly took place at the house Monday, where the boy with autism was seen on a wooden platform– with a thin blanket that served as a bed– inside the locked makeshift cage.
Sheriff Hanson said of the incident:
“When an individual is confined, I mean locked inside of a makeshift cage, that’s just not right, and I don’t know how it can be justified.”
The Department of Human Services in Michigan says it is currently investigating the incident, while Spokesman Bob Wheaton affirmed that the house is not a licensed care facility but a private residence.
The original article by on The Independent website can be found here