Boy chained by dad now in mother's custody (Sacramento, California)

Dad JOHN VANG and the charming step have been arrested on charges of false imprisonment and cruelty to a child for locking Dad's 13-year-old son in chains for 48 hours. The boy is now in the custody of his biological mother. Not clarified here is just what the parents' custodial arrangement was before this incident. At any rate, this is a father who should NOT have been allowed contact. I wonder if this Daddy had a prior record of child abuse or domestic violence that was simply ignored by the courts. Wouldn't surprise me.

Hat tip to L.

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/02/2929595/chained-xy-x-yx-yx-yx-yx-yx-y.html

Boy chained by father now in mother's custody, police say

By Matt Kawahara
mkawahara@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Aug. 2, 2010 - 12:00 am Page 1A
Last Modified: Monday, Aug. 2, 2010 - 8:31 am

A 13-year-old Sacramento boy who police say was locked in chains by his father for 48 hours was put in the custody of his biological mother this weekend, authorities said Sunday.

Sacramento police said they arrested the boy's father, 41-year-old John Vang, and his stepmother, Thong Vue, 34, on suspicion of false imprisonment and cruelty to a child. Both were booked into the Sacramento County jail and released Saturday on bail.

Police spokesman Officer Konrad von Schoech said the boy was being punished by his father and was locked in chains from Wednesday until Friday evening, when the boy managed to get outside and ask for help.

Von Schoech said police located the victim's biological mother, who picked up her son Friday night; he said Sacramento County's Child Protective Services agency "will get involved at this point."

"They will look into the history of this family, and we will conduct the criminal (investigation)," von Schoech said.

The department received a call about 9:30 p.m. Friday that a boy in the vicinity of Franklin Boulevard and Shining Star Drive appeared to be handcuffed or chained and was asking passers-by for help, von Schoech said.

When officers arrived at the 7300 block of Winnett Way, they found the boy with chains wrapped around both ankles and a padlock securing each ankle, von Schoech said. There was also a long length of chain that was connected to the padlocks, he said.

The boy told police "that he got into some sort of trouble at home" on Wednesday night, von Schoech said Sunday.

As punishment, the boy said his father put the padlocks on his ankles and used the long chain connected to his ankles to chain him to the kitchen table, von Schoech said.

He was allowed to go to the bathroom and sleep in his bed, but he was still in chains, von Schoech said.

On Friday night, when the boy saw that his father and stepmother were getting ready to go out gambling, "He had the quick thinking of hiding a key to the (table) lock on his person," von Schoech said.

Von Schoech added: "After he was chained back to the table and his parents left, he was able to free himself and run outside" to alert passers-by.

The father and stepmother were later located and arrested Saturday, according to police logs. His stepmother was arrested because she watched Vang put his son in chains and did not intervene, von Schoech said.

Von Schoech said the boy appeared to be in good health and was not hospitalized.

Police are investigating the possibility that the boy had been chained on other occasions. Von Schoech said it appears that the child was physically abused, and perhaps had been struck by another person.

The south Sacramento street was quiet Sunday, and few people were outside their well-maintained properties.

Neighbors of the suspects either were reluctant to comment or said they did not know the couple that well.

However, a next-door neighbor, Jerel Todd, said Sunday that he thought he heard screaming and yelling coming from the home Friday. "But as quick as it started, … it ended," he said.

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