Iowa parents accused of keeping 4-year-old child in makeshift cage

HAMBURG, Iowa (Scripps News Omaha/Court TV) — An Iowa couple has been arrested after a 4-year-old boy was found wandering near a roadway.

Dustin Perry and Lindsey Hamilton, both 26 years old, are charged with neglect or abandonment of a dependent person and child endangerment. Authorities say more charges are expected against the parents.

Dustin Perry (L) and Lindsey Hamilton (R) (Fremont County Sheriff’s Office)

Fremont County deputies allege the boy, who has developmental disabilities, was found outside his grandparents’ home in Hamburg on July 25. Sheriff Kevin Aistrope said the child was “filthy,” covered in human and animal feces.

Inside the home, deputies reportedly found a makeshift cage constructed out of a Pack ‘n Play, zip ties and a baby gate used as a roof, according to Scripps News Omaha . Deputies said Perry and Hamilton told relatives to put the boy in the cage, who was able to escape and left the home without waking his grandparents.

Deputies also found a 9-year-old child, who was removed from the home.

After discovering the cage at the Hamburg residence, deputies searched the parents’ Shenandoah home and allegedly found a second makeshift cage kept in a walk-in closet.

Sheriff Aistrope pleaded for the public to report suspected abuse to law enforcement, saying, “There’s a lot of child abuse around that we don’t even see.”

This story was originally published by Scripps News Omaha, an E.W. Scripps Company.