Fremont Co. authorities allege family locked 4-year-old in cage

The parents of a four-year-old boy were arrested after he was found wandering near a main roadway in Hamburg, Iowa. Fremont County deputies allege the child, who has developmental disabilities, was being kept in a makeshift cage.

• “He was filthy. He’s not potty trained, had stuff all over him,” said Sheriff Kevin Aistrope of the little boy.
• The child was found outside his grandparents' home in Hamburg, but his parents live in Shenandoah. After the cage-like device was discovered in Hamburg, the parents' home was searched in Shenandoah. The sheriff's office says a similar cage was found in that home.
• Aistrope expects more charges will be filed in this case. The Iowa Department of Human Services, Shenandoah Police, and Hamburg Rescue assisted with the investigation.
  

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

Parents of a 4-year-old were arrested after the child was found wandering the streets of Hamburg, Iowa Thursday. I’m your Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office alleges the parents kept the child in a makeshift cage.

It was along this stretch of Washington Street, which is also Highway 275, that deputies responded to call just before 9 a.m. on Thursday. They discovered a 4-year-old boy with developmental disabilities covered in human and animal feces outside his grandparents' house.

“He was filthy. He’s not potty trained, had stuff all over him,” said Sheriff Kevin Aistrope.

Inside the home were sleeping adults and a 9-year-old child. The sheriff says that when deputies discovered the makeshift cage. The sheriff says in his 40 years in law enforcement, this case ranks as one of the most extreme.

“I can think back a couple cases were maybe this bad or worse, but this was pretty bad,” she Aistrope.

The parents’ home in Shenandoah was also searched and, according to the sheriff, another makeshift cage was discovered and other children were taken into state custody. The 4-year-old went to the hospital.

Aistrope also mentioned that there was a previous complaint from neighbors about the family. Because of that, he says they didn’t see the homemade device that was being used to lock up the 4-year-old. He asks that the public please report suspected abuse to law enforcement.

“There’s a lot of child abuse around that we don’t even, we don’t even see,” said the sheriff.

The boy’s parents, Dustin Perry and Lindsey Hamilton, both 26 from Shenandoah, are being charged with neglect or abandonment of a dependent person and child endangerment. The nine-year-old is home with other relatives. Aistrope expects there will be more charges in this case.