Parents accused of hog-tying 12-year-old son and leaving him for over nine hours
Child ‘had his wrists tied behind his back with white shoe strings, and his wrists were tied to his ankles’
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Two parents have been arrested in Ohio on felony charges after police found a 12-year-old boy tied up in a hotel room.
Tabetha Sosnowicz, 38, and Jason Sosnowicz Sr, 42, were detained in the Toledo suburb of Northwood in northern Ohio after the child was found on 22 July, court documents have revealed.
They are facing charges of endangering children and administering corporal punishment, according to WTVG.
An affidavit stated that police went to the Baymont hotel last month after being called to the area for a safety check, finding the child tied up in a hotel room where the family had been staying.
The child “had his wrists tied behind his back with white shoe strings, and his wrists were tied to his ankles”, the affidavit said.
Law enforcement added that the boy was bound for around nine and a half hours, between 3am and 12.30pm, when the police arrived.
The legal filings state the stepfather was present in the room when the police knocked on the door of the room. He reportedly told police that the child was restrained because he “gets into things”.
The mother later came back to the room, telling police that she had been aware that the boy had been tied up.
Both of them reportedly told police that they would “normally” restrain the child “to keep him from accessing candy while they are asleep”, the affidavit said.
Court documents also state that there were two other children in the room at the time, aged six and 14, but that they weren’t restrained.
A staff member at the hotel told WTVG that the stepfather worked at the hotel. His bond was set at $75,000 and he has been ordered to not communicate with the child. The mother was also ordered to not have any contact with the boy. Her bond was set at $25,000.
The case is under investigation by Wood County Children Services.
During a court appearance on Thursday, a preliminary hearing was waved for both of the parents and the cases were sent on to Wood County Common Pleas Court, according to WTVG.