Parents accused of locking child in cage after 4-year-old found in Hamburg

According to a news release from the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office:

It received a report of a small child, alone, near the roadway in Hamburg, Iowa.

Deputies discovered a 4-year-old child, with reported developmental disabilities, covered in filth and a mixture of both human and animal feces outside the residence. Deputies located another child inside the home. Both children were taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation.

Deputies allege that the parents, Dustin Perry, age 26, and Lindsey Hamilton, age 26, both of Shenandoah, Iowa, left the children in the care of relatives with the direction to keep the 4-year-old in a makeshift cage.

Deputies located the cage in the home constructed out of a pack-and-play, a baby gate roof, and zip ties. Deputies allege that the child was able to escape from the device and left the home without waking the occupants.

Deputies discovered a second homemade cage where it is alleged that the child was kept in a walk-in closet in a home in Shenandoah, Iowa.

Both Perry and Hamilton were arrested and charged with:

Neglect or Abandonment of a Dependent Person, a Class C Felony
Child Endangerment. An Aggravated Misdemeanor

Several children were removed from the home by DHS.

Both are being held at the Fremont County Jail without bond, pending initial appearance with the Magistrate.

More charges are pending in the case.

Hamburg Rescue, Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, and the Shenandoah Police Department assisted with the investigation