A US mother has been arrested after her 14-year-old son said he was held prisoner for four and a half years - spending most of his time locked in a wardrobe.
A security guard called police in Oklahoma City after the malnourished teenager turned up with numerous marks and other signs of abuse.
"He was hungry. He was dirty. He had numerous scars on his body. It was very sad," Police Sergeant Gary Knight said.
The boy was taken to a hospital to be examined and then put in the custody of the Department of Human Services.
Police arrested the boy's mother, LaRhonda Marie McCall, 37, and a friend, 38-year-old Steve Vern Hamilton, over child abuse and neglect allegations.
Formal charges have not been filed but both were being held on a £250,000 bond, according to jail records.
A police report listed McCall as a pharmaceutical company employee and Hamilton as a cab driver.
The boy, wearing only a pair of oversized shorts held up by a belt, walked up to the security guard on Friday.
He asked where a police station was located so he could report being abused, according to a police report.
The boy claimed scars on his stomach were from where alcohol had been poured on him and set alight. Other scars were from being tied up, hit with an extension cord and choked, he added.
"He had scars covering most of his body. They were basically from head to foot," Sgt Knight said.
The teenager said he moved to the Oklahoma City area from New Jersey about four and a half years ago, after his mother was released from jail.
But, since arriving in Oklahoma state, he had never been to school and spent most of his time locked in a bedroom wardrobe, he said.
The boy told police the wardrobe's door was mostly blocked with a stepladder or a bed and that he managed to push it open enough to escape and leave the house.




http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Boy-Locked-In-Closet-LaRhonda-Marie-McCall-And-Steve-Vern-Hamilton-Arrested-In-Oklahoma-City-US/Article/200909415394963?lpos=World_News_First_Home_Article_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15394963_Boy_Locked_In_Closet%3A_LaRhonda_Marie_McCall_And_Steve_Vern_Hamilton_Arrested_In_Oklahoma_City%2C_US

this is a must read story ooo!!!!1

why go through the trouble of giving birth, if you would end up abusing the child. people are stupid.

Sick Mom.
Okay, , So whats her excuse for treating him like an animal. Is that what prison did to her.?

Something similar happened in canada some years back.
This is just too sad and someone needs to make sure they are dealt with.

Why would a mother do that? She needs absolute punishment.

they both deserve to be hanged

yes oooo they all deserve more dan wat is happenin to dem now

I dis life where pple are weeping & praying 4 @ least even a stillbirth , this junkie is maltreating her own son. I pray d child is eventually provided wit a family dat 'll show him enuf love 2 make up 4 all his period of lack.