Mother arrested after allegedly keeping her 2-year-old son captive in a ‘makeshift cage’ covered in ‘human feces’

New York State Police said the toddler was covered in “human feces” and “urine”

A New York mother is charged with child endangerment after her 2-year-old son was found in a cage in their home.

New York State Police said in a press release on Thursday, May 16 that 24-year-old Naesha Lumpkin was arrested after her son was found living in deplorable conditions and with bruises on his body.

Officers discovered the child after executing a felony arrest warrant for Lumpkin at her Buffalo, New York, home on Feb. 8 on a separate charge.

When they arrived at the home to arrest her, they found her 2-year-old son in a separate bedroom, in a “makeshift cage” made of “a playpen, covered with a piece of a crib tied on three sides” to the top.” The release noted that in the cage there was not enough room for the baby to “get up or get out of the playpen”.

Related: Mom is accused of murdering her 5-year-old daughter who was allegedly locked in a closet and covered in garbage

Police released a photo of a small cage showing pieces of a gray bed tied together. There was trash and “feces” strewn around the cage, the police report said, adding that feces was also smeared on the wall next to the cage.

“There were food remains inside. Chicken wing bones. Bones or some type of chicken bone. I mean, if you look at it, it was something that was disgusting,” Trooper James O’Callaghan told WKBW-TV. stage.

Police noted in the report that the toddler and cage were covered in “human feces” and that the child and bedding were also “soaked in urine and feces.”

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“There were several excuses as to why the child was in such a cage. None of them were good reasons,” O’Callaghan added. “And let’s be honest with you, anyone who has children or has seen this photo knows there is no reason for a child to not just live like this.”

Investigators responded to the scene and called Erie County Child Protective Services and an AMR ambulance to provide medical attention to the child. According to state police, the toddler was then transported to Oishei Children’s Hospital where he received treatment.

Related: Two charged with elder abuse and child neglect after family with four children found themselves in ‘terrible’ living conditions

According to the release, during medical examinations at the hospital, medical staff noticed that the 2-year-old had “bruises on his face and body.” The child was also found to have “two broken ribs” that were healing, meaning the injuries lasted between ten days and two weeks before the child arrived at the hospital, police said.

Investigators questioned Lumpkin about the child’s injuries, and she allegedly told them the boy “fell down the stairs in late December 2023 and early January 2024.” She also testified that, according to police, the child “cried as a result of the incident,” but “she did not seek professional medical help.”

Lumpkin is scheduled to appear in court next month, according to WKBW-TV.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453 or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are free and confidential. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in over 170 languages.

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