A 33-year-old Lebanon woman is in custody at Lebanon County Correctional Facility facing charges for allegedly handcuffing her child to a fuel tank.
Lebanon County Regional Police were dispatched to a home on the 600 block of East Kercher Avenue, North Lebanon Township, shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, for a wellness check on an 11-year-old boy who was reportedly chained to his bed.
An officer arrived on scene and made contact with the children, police said in an affidavit, and located a child handcuffed to the railing of a top bunk bed. Police said that the child told them he had been tied to a post in the basement by his mother, but got free and accidentally handcuffed himself to the bed.
Police made contact with the children’s mother, Chazzity M. Candelario, who told the officer not to speak with the children until she returned home. Candelario allegedly told police that she had a hard time controlling her children while she is away at work, and according to the affidavit admitted to police that she had locked her son in a small 3′ by 8′ utility room as well as handcuffing him to the fuel tank.
The child told police that his mother handcuffed him to the leg of the fuel tank for up to two hours at a time, according to the affidavit.
Candelario has been charged with unlawful restraint of a minor and false imprisonment of a minor, both felonies, as well as a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of children.
Following an arraignment in front of Magisterial District Judge John W. Ditzler, Candelario has been remanded to Lebanon County Correctional Facility in lieu of bail, which was set at $100,000. A preliminary hearing in front of Magisterial District Judge Kim R. Wolf is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 23, at 8 a.m.
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