Dad, step charged with felony for locking 13-year-old in chains (Sacramento, California)

Dad JOHN VANG and the charming step have been arraigned on felony child endangerment charges. Did this gruesome twosome have physical custody of this child or just visitation? If it was just visitation, it must have been pretty generous to allow them to keep this poor kid chained to a kitchen table for days on end. Why does the press say he's now in the custody of his biological mother? Did she not have legal custody before? And is it really necessary to say "biological mother"? We're not talking about breeding stock here, we're talking about this boy's mom.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15729525?nclick_check=1

Couple charged with felony for chaining teen
The Associated Press
Posted: 08/10/2010 05:58:20 AM PDT

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Prosecutors say a Sacramento couple has been charged with felony child endangerment for imprisoning their 13-year-old son for days by locking him in chains, often tethered to a kitchen table.

Forty-one-year-old John Vang, the teen's father, and 34-year-old Thong Vue, the boy's stepmother, appeared for arraignment Monday in Sacramento Superior Court, but they didn't enter a plea. They will return to court Aug. 18.

The couple is free on bail. They wouldn't talk to reporters.

Investigators say the boy was wrapped in chains—with padlocks securing each ankle and a long chain connected to the padlocks—for days until he managed to escape July 30 and flag down passers-by for help.

The teen is now in the custody of his biological mother.

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Information from: The Sacramento Bee, http://www.sacbee.com/