PALM BAY, Fla. (WHDH) — A woman is facing charges after authorities say she kept a child with autism locked in a cage inside her Palm Bay, Florida home.
Melissa Doss, 43, was arrested Sunday on three counts of child neglect without bodily harm and one count of aggravated child abuse as aggravated assault, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office said.
Palm Bay police officers responding to a call from a neighbor stating that a child had walked into his screened patio on Saturday saw a young girl at the house adjacent to the neighbor and learned that she could not speak and that she suffered from a disability, according to a Palm Beach police report obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.
The girl was able to communicate where her home was located to the officers and when they knocked on the residence’s door, the officers saw Doss climb over a fence and walk around the house to speak with them, the report continued.
Doss allegedly told the officers that the girl was living with her and had escaped out the back without her realizing it.
She then denied officers entry into her home, telling them if they saw the inside, they would call the Fla. Department of Children and Families, the report read.
The officers then called DCF.
Officers and DCF went back to the house Sunday, where Doss eventually gave them permission to enter after initially refusing them, according to the report.
Authorities reportedly found the floor completely covered with trash and bugs.
They also noted that parts of the ceiling were missing or had collapsed, that none of the bathrooms worked, and that the home smelled of feces and urine.
Officers found a homemade cage in Doss’ room with a pillow and blanket inside, the report read.
Doss allegedly said that the girl suffered from severe autism and she would trap her inside of the cage nightly to stop her from leaving the home.
Doss is currently being held on bond.
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