CAMDEN — An East Camden mother and her
boyfriend are accused of chaining her 10-year-old son to a radiator as
punishment.
Police said that for the past two weeks, Florence
Pollard, 31, and her boyfriend, Brian L. Craig, 29, of Blackwood, locked the boy
by his ankles to a radiator in a bedroom, with his hands sometimes restrained by
plastic zip ties.
Authorities believe he was chained day and night.
Police were alerted to the alleged abuse Monday when
Pollard, of the 2700 block of Cramer Street, reported her son had run away. The
boy was located shortly thereafter when a resident called police to report he
had found a child a few blocks away.
The youth told police he had been chained in his
mother’s bedroom as punishment and had to sleep on the floor uncovered during
the night. Police searched the home and found the metal chain and lock they
believe were used to restrain the child.
“This level of depravity inflicted upon a child is
chilling,” said Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson. “We’re just thankful
that the child had an opportunity to escape and report what has been going on so
we could arrest this couple and put a stop to their cruelty.”
Pollard and Craig have been charged with endangering
the welfare of a child and criminal restraint. Both were held at Camden County
Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.
Police said five other children live in the Cramer
Street home — two sisters and three brothers ranging in age from 11 years to 7
months. They were taken into custody by the New Jersey Division of Child
Protection and Permanency. Craig is the father of the 7-month-old, a girl.
Police said an investigation is ongoing.
“To treat a child this way is inhuman,” said Sgt.
Janell Simpson, supervisor of the county police Special Victims Unit.
“He could have been seriously injured or died had this
continued, so to get this child and his brothers and sisters out of that
environment was critical. We will continue the investigation to determine if
there have been other abuses.”
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