DALLAS (WHDH) — A Dallas woman and her live-in boyfriend are facing child endangerment charges after her 6-year-old grandson was allegedly found tied up in a shed late Sunday night.
Officers responding to a tip about the boy at a home on Coston Drive around 11:30 p.m. spoke with his grandmother, 53-year-old Esmeralda Lira, who said that the boy was with his mother, KTVT reported.
As the officers walked around the house, a man living in the back of the property pointed them toward the shed, where they found the boy with his hands tied behind his back, according to the local TV station.
Lira allegedly said that the boy was only in there that one time as a punishment, but her live-in boyfriend, 64-year-old Jose Balderas, allegedly said that the boy had been confined in the shed for at least two weeks for stealing food.
The boy told officers the alleged abuse started when school closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 6-year-old boy, his 7-year-old sister, and his 4-year-old brother have been removed from the home and will be placed into foster care, the Department of Families and Protective Services told KTVT.
Lira and Balderas were placed under arrest on felony charges of endangering a child.
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