Mum of six arrested after children found 'chained and leashed' at Texas home
A mother of six has been arrested after one toddler was found chained up and another tied to a door with a leash at a Texas home.
San Antonio authorities acted on a ‘tip-off’ and stormed the home, where they rescued eight children from the property, NBC reports.
It’s alleged the children had been left home alone.
The Bexar County Sheriff's Office said officers arrived at the home after a neighbour heard a crying child. They found toddlers tied up, one with a chain to the ground and another tied to a door with a dog leash.
A spokesman for the sheriff’s office described the crime as ‘sick, disturbing and horrific’.
The toddlers, two and three years old, were freed along with six other children aged from 10 months old to 13.
Porucha Phillips, 34, the mother of six of the children found inside the home has since been taken into custody.
Phillips was responsible for caring for the other two toddlers, who were found outside.
She faces two charges of injury to a child by omission with serious bodily injury and is being held on a $150,000 bond.
It’s reported Phillips claimed the two toddlers were left by their parents, who had not been located as of Friday night.
She told police she planned to take the kids to the authorities because she couldn’t care for them.
It’s reported she has denied restraining the children.
The two toddlers were hospitalised and the six other children were put in the care of Texas Child Protective Services.
There are concerns the children were malnourished.
The child services agency told local media it had no record of past involvement with the family.
Bexar County Sheriff's Deputy James Keith said he was thankful help arrived when it did.
"It makes you wonder what somebody's thinking. How could they do this? It's hard to even imagine.
"And I'm just grateful that our deputies and this neighbor were able to get there in time and to save these kids," he said.
