Five family members charged with cruelty 'for keeping boy, 8, and his sister, 9, in cages'

Five family members have been charged with child cruelty after police discovered two young siblings were kept in 'cages' at their home.

The pair - understood to be a nine-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy - were allegedly imprisoned in a darkened bedroom once they returned from school each day.
They were only released in the morning so they could attend lessons, it was claimed.

A grandmother, 52, grandfather, 53, and three aunts - two aged 32 and the other 18 - were arrested in Glasgow after the little girl failed to return home.


Glasgow Sheriff Court: The family members appeared on Monday charged with child cruelty


The group appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Monday after the child was reported missing by her grandmother when she did not return from school on September 13.
Investigating officers went to the red brick semi-detached house where they discovered 'highly unusual sleeping arrangements,' one source said.

These are understood to have been babies’ cots, converted to hold the children from early every evening until the next day.

'The cots had been built up like big cages to stop large children getting out of them,' one source said.

'The children were going to school and when they got home were put to bed in the cots early in the evening and they would not have been able to get out until they were let out for school the following morning.'

One neighbour said: 'It was noted by most of those living in the area that the only time we ever saw the kids was when they were coming or going home from school.
'None of the other children seemed to have anything to do with them and they were never seen out in the streets.'

Sources within the city council’s social work department described the children, who lived in the Cardonald area, as having 'a complex background'.

It is understood the pair had been living with their relatives for at least two years because their parents battled addiction problems.

Social workers are understood to have had contact with other family members over mental health issues but the children were not considered to be at significant risk.

The grandmother the key point of contact for social workers.

The family members were arrested four on Friday - four days after police made their discovery - and taken into custody.

They were later charged with cruel and unnatural treatment against a child before appearing on court on Monday.

The group have now been released on bail, with conditions stipulating that they do not approach the children.

A police spokesman said: 'We can confirm that four women aged 18, 32, 32 and 52 and a 53-year-old man were arrested and detained in policy custody on Friday, September 17, in connection with Section 12 of the Children and Young Persons Act.'
Section 12 of the Act relates to 'cruel and unnatural treatment towards a child'.

A senior social worker said: 'Initially there appear to have been several factors which have made it difficult to ascertain exactly what was happening within the family.'

There was no answer yesterday at the property in Cardonald but the occupants of their former home, in the same area, said the house was in a filthy state when they moved in.

They said the bathroom had been 'wrecked' and there were holes in the walls.

But a woman living nearby described them as 'decent people' and 'good neighbours'.

A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: 'This is now a matter for the courts and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment further.'

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