Boy: Mom Kept Me in Closet for 4 1/2 Years

(AP)  A woman was arrested after her 14-year-son told authorities he escaped from a home where he'd been kept for 4 1/2 years, spending most of his time locked in a bedroom closet, police said Monday.

A security guard at a National Guard facility in Oklahoma City called police on Friday after the teen showed up malnourished and with numerous scars and other signs of abuse, police Sgt. Gary Knight said.

"He was hungry. He was dirty. He had numerous scars on his body," Knight said. "It was very sad."

The boy was taken to a hospital to be examined and then turned over to the custody of the Department of Human Services, Knight said.

After police interviews, officers on Saturday arrested the boy's mother, 37-year-old LaRhonda Marie McCall, and a friend, 38-year-old Steve Vern Hamilton, on 20 complaints each of child abuse and child neglect. Formal charges have not been filed, and both were being held on $400,000 bond, according to jail records.

Jail officials were not sure wheter either had retained an attorney, and no one answered the phone at McCall's home. A police report listed McCall as a pharmaceutical company employee and Hamilton as a cab driver.

The teen, wearing only a pair of oversized shorts held up by a belt, walked up to a security guard at the Guard facility around 5 p.m. Friday and asked where a police station was located so he could report being abused, according to a police report.

He told police that scars on his stomach and torso were from where alcohol had been poured on him and set on fire. Other scars were from being tied up, hit with an extension cord and choked, the boy told police.

"He had scars covering most of his body," Knight said. "They were basically from head to foot."

The teen told police he moved to the Oklahoma City area from New Jersey about 4 1/2 years ago after his mother was released from jail. Since arriving in Oklahoma, he said, he had never been to school and spent most of his time locked in a bedroom closet.

He told police the closet door was mostly blocked with a stepladder or a bed and that he managed to push the door open enough to escape and leave the house.

Knight said six other children living at the home were taken into DHS custody, but none showed signs of abuse. McCall had lived at several different addresses in the Oklahoma City area, he said.

A DHS spokeswoman said she could not discuss specific cases but generally an investigation would be conducted before any of the children are returned to the home or placed with other family members.

"There may be family members, but we do a diligent search, and we're very careful about placing kids in a safe environment," DHS spokeswoman Beth Scott said.

[Demi_destructor]

So wow. . . is there any justice in this world? How is that women allowed to have kids is my question. If there was justice they would lock her in a closet for 4.5 years. But I guess life in prison would suffice.

[csidedreamer]

what kind of mental illness is that ? where you feed all the kids but one? or just single one child out & become evil ? seriously that is so disturbing- I could not have made up such a horror story!

[rmm26a]

Damn Laquisha! Don't u kno u shudnt lock yo kidz in da clozit!

[crapper007]

"Knight said six other children living at the home ...

even worse is that there were other kids and most likely a boyfriend living in this house and no one said anything.

[legacyabq]

God what an evil-looking scum.

What a picture.

[ronniedartez]

Okay, here I go coming off like Rush Limbaugh, and I mean that as insulting as it sounds. I respect the man, just don't like him. We are America - we about to tell people you may not text while driving. Okay. Now let's look at child bearing. I live in the downtown area of Los Angeles and every week I see several instances of where a woman should not have been allowed to bear children. Ride the buses and rail system here and you'll know what I'm referring to. You have so many young children 8, 9, 10, 12 years using language in front of their parent that would make a truck driver blush. And in reprimanding them, on the rare occasion that occurs the parent will use the same language. LET'S DO SOMETHING ABOUT THESE WOMAN THAT HAVE NO CLUE ABOUT PARENTING. Why not mandate pre-delivery parenting classes. Okay, I'm about to rant, so adios amigos.

[observer2020]

Why did they single-out this one child when they had six more to abuse? They do need lots of jail time to think about their actions. Then, "fix" the both of them so they stop breeding! There are lots of loving non-parents that would give anything to have one child and these slimes had 7?

[sundayweiss]

Amen, to the idea CBS would scholarship or fund raise for this boy, he will need lots of therapy and counseling and tutors to get caught up socialy and emotionaly and academicaly in school. I wish if storys like this are very public, this public display of terror and abuse, would somehow support the unfortunate used and abused.

[sundayweiss]

I don't think anyone who would take another huyman being and pour alcohol on their belly and set it on fire qualifys as a human being.

[guntznroses]

Deviants like this should be immediately sterilized and put into lifelong servitude to their victims and their families. No leniency or mercy should be given.