A Maryland mother and her boyfriend are facing serious charges after investigators say they routinely confined the woman’s 4-year-old child inside a closet with no light and no food for hours at a time, according to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office.
Kaylynn Nicole Moore, 28, and James Earl Stone, 27, were arrested and charged with child abuse along with seven counts of child neglect. Both were taken to the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Leonardtown to await bond hearings.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies responded Monday to a residence in Callaway, a small community roughly 70 miles from the nation’s capital, after receiving a call that a child was reportedly being kept inside a closet. Officials said residents at the home allowed deputies inside, where they discovered a closet door fastened shut with a bungee cord. Inside, they found the 4-year-old child.
Officers had the child examined for medical concerns. Investigators also learned that a total of three adults and four other children were living at the residence, though officials said the other children did not need medical treatment.
After securing a search warrant, deputies searched the closet and described its condition as unsafe, noting there was no functioning light source and no visible food inside.
During questioning, Moore allegedly admitted that her child was regularly kept inside the closet for close to 12 hours each day. Stone, identified by investigators as Moore’s boyfriend and a resident of the home, reportedly acknowledged that he used the bungee cord to keep the closet door shut.
Authorities have not released the identity of the third adult who was living at the residence.
The case remains under investigation, and further legal proceedings are expected as the couple awaits their bond hearings.