A Florida woman was arrested this past Sunday after being suspected of keeping a child with autism locked in a metal and wood cage in a Brevard County home.
People reports that 43-year-old Melissa Doss of Palm Bay was arrested and is now facing three felony charges of child neglect and a count of child abuse.
Police responded to a call on Saturday, July 24 in which a neighbor said there was a child inside of the screened-in patio of their home. The officers who were dispatched to the scene determined that the girl had a disability and was non-verbal. Police also found that the child lived nearby after she was able to communicate its location to them.
They then made their way to the home, which was next door, but were denied entry by Doss. After coming back the next day, Doss allowed the authorities to enter. Police claim that they found the home to be in a state of severe disrepair and filled with trash and bugs. They also said that the home smelled of feces and had no bathrooms. Doss reportedly told police that they use “a bucket and throw the waste in the backyard.” There was also no food or water in the home.
Upon entering the house, child protective investigators learned that Doss and one child shared a bed. Next to the bed, the officer discovered a homemade metal and wood cage. Officers were told Doss would lock the child inside the cage at night. Doss said she would put the child in the cage because she has autism and might try to leave the home at night.
Department of Children and Families social workers, who, according to police have previously talked with the woman, removed the child and two siblings from the home. The ages of the children were not disclosed.
“The detective investigating the case said that it would have been better and more sanitary for the children to sleep outside than to stay in the home,” Lt. Jeff Spears of the Palm Bay Police Department told Florida Today. “The detective also said that they’ve never seen anything this severe.”
Doss went before a judge on Monday and was handed down a $20,000 bond.
