http://abcnews.go.com/sections/US/Livin ... 923-1.htmlSept. 23, 2004 ? In a case that has stunned local officials, a 15- year-old boy from Lebanon, Tenn., was found emaciated ? weighing just 49 pounds ? and chained to a bed where he was often kept nude, except for a soiled diaper that he had to change himself.
Police went to the boy's home Tuesday night
after receiving a call from the Tennessee Department of Children's Services. They rescued the boy from the home, where police said his father and stepmother kept the teenager captive.
"In 14 years, the most horrible case of child abuse ever," Lebanon police Detective Scott Massey said.
James Osborne III and his wife, Christie, are both charged with aggravated child abuse. The 15-year-old, whose name is being withheld, is now in the custody of the state.
The couple's three other children, ages 8, 6 and 5, all appeared to be well-fed and in good health. They, too, have been removed from the home.
Months of Abuse
Detectives told ABC News affiliate WKRN that when the boy was taken to a local hospital, where he is expected to stay for several days, it was clear he was starving. "He ate four plates of food at the ER yesterday," Massey said.
The boy was chained by his ankle to the frame of his bed for hours, and sometimes days, police said. He often was forced to sleep on a preschool mat or the hardwood floor, often nude or often wearing just a dirty diaper that he had to change himself.
When asked why the teen was kept in such condition, Massey said, "[His step-] mom says he's a troublemaker."
Police said they found the keys used to lock up the boy on both the father's and stepmother's key rings. They said the abuse went on for months.
"The father told us he'd leave for work in the morning with the child chained to the bed," Massey said. "He'd get home, [the boy would] still be chained to the bed. He'd come home, unchain him, [let him] use the bathroom and tell him, 'Go back and chain yourself up before Mom finds out I let you go.' "
Previous Allegations
The arrests of the Osbornes did not surprise their neighbor, Gladys Key, who told WKRN she reported them to the Department of Children's Services because she sensed something was wrong at the house. Still, when Key saw the skin and bones of the family's oldest son, she was shocked.
"It broke my heart, broke my heart in two," she said, adding that she wished she could have done more.
Local DCS authorities confirmed to WKRN that Key made the report. The agency also said it has had contact with the teen and his family over the past three years. In 2001 and 2003, the agency was contacted regarding allegations of physical abuse involving the boy.
DCS staff told WKRN that a caseworker met with the family in both cases and determined the allegations to be unfounded. They said the boy's doctor saw him in January and found nothing out of the ordinary, and he must have lost weight dramatically since then.
To help a child you suspect is being abused, contact your local police or Child Help USA's national hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD.
