Thread: Two kids found caged inside dad's truck

Two kids found caged inside dad's truck

July 3, 2008Recommend (1)

BY WILLIAM LEE, staff writer
Nothing about the outside of Ricardo Gonzalez's rusting navy-blue pickup truck tells there's a homemade jail inside - where he encaged his two young daughters.

Inside the 1995 Chevrolet S10 truck, Gonzalez erected a wire cage behind the driver and passenger seats to hold the girls, ages 2 and 5, while he drove around as a scrap hauler, Posen police said.

Two girls were found inside padlocked cages behind the seats in this pickup truck, police said.

The cries of the two girls from within the cage alerted a bystander, who called police from a Marathon gas station in the 3000 block of 147th Street in Posen about 4:15 p.m. Monday.

Gonzalez, 35, of the 3600 block of 153rd Street in Midlothian, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor child endangerment, and police impounded the truck. Police said they were working with Cook County prosecutors about possibly upgrading to felony charges.

Police said Gonzalez told them he constructed the cage to restrain his daughters while he worked because he didn't have a baby sitter.

The truck's back window is covered with a large plywood board. Two black-tinted windows hide the interior, where Gonzalez had bolted and welded the cage to the frame of the truck and taped and tied it together.

The only exit from the cage is a small space between the two front seats, which was fashioned with chain-link fencing that was closed with a padlock.

The news of the arrest left even veteran Posen officers scratching their heads in disbelief.

"I've never seen anything like this, and I don't think anyone else has," Detective Sgt. Robert Quirk said.

"I wouldn't put my dog in that," Cpl. William Alexander said as he looked over the truck at the Fair Towing lot in Posen.

Inside the cage, a child's safety seat sat unrestrained. The rear seats were covered with pink fleece blankets - one displaying Minnie Mouse, the other showing a princess.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services removed the girls and placed them in foster care Monday. There was no indication they were in poor health, police said.

DCFS had previous contact with the family, having investigated the girls' mother, Yesenia, for neglect in 2006 and having provided "supportive services" for the family last year, DCFS spokesman Kendall Marlowe said. He could not say what type of services were given to the couple.

Gonzalez could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

Quirk said police initially were alarmed that the girls might have been put in the cage around-the-clock and were relieved to learn that wasn't the case.

"But that doesn't take from the fact they were caged in," he said.

Contributing: John O'Brien

William Lee can be reached at wlee@southtownstar.com or (70 633-6747.


http://www.southtownstar.com/news/10380 ... ge.article

1. Where was the mother? Why wasn't she taking care of the girls while the father worked?

2. No one to babysit or too cheap to pay a sitter?

3. Are they receiving any welfare for their daughters?

I don't understand "people" like this who keep having kids and don't even take care of them! Why bother having kids in the first place?!?!

Lastly, what does this have to do with illegal immigration?

Lastly, what does this have to do with illegal immigration?

It's posted in Other Topics and News. Just strange things going on in our country. I'm afraid with more jobs lost and our economy in the shooter....more things like this will be happening.