A call made by two women after they found a child wandering alone on an East Cleveland street exposed years of alleged neglect and child abuse.
RELATED: Father of 6-year-old boy who wandered from home in East Cleveland has lengthy criminal record
The child's mother, Earcielee Chisholm, admitted to police that she would bind the child's wrists with duct tape and lock him in the basement for hours at a time, according to the police report.
Both she and the father, Demershion Taylor, are facing child endangerment, kidnapping, child abuse and domestic violence charges. The couple's eight children remain in foster care.
Police say the child's parents were intoxicated when they arrived to pick up their lost child and had no idea their child had been missing.
They say the child was only wearing a sweatshirt when he was found — no shoes or underwear. He was eating a piece of bread he found behind The Salvation Army because he was hungry, according to the police report.
The mother admitted to police that her issues with the child date back to when she was pregnant with him, according to the report. She says she doesn't have the same love for him and has always treated him different. She states in the report that the child got the burns on his wrist because she would bind them with duct tape and lock him in the basement. The child told police that his mother once put duct tape on a wound she inflicted on his head and left him down there.
The child's father denied ever seeing those marks.
News 5 has learned that both Cuyahoga and Lorain counties have opened cases on the family from 2004 to 2011. Only one case involving the oldest child was determined to be abuse. The father also has a lengthy criminal history, involving drug trafficking, sexual imposition and aggravated assault.
Cuyahoga County Child and Family Services couldn't talk about this pending case. But they say the community plays a big role with incidences involving neglect or abuse.
"We don't have the ability to know what is going on all across the entire county. We have to have citizens who keep open eyes and open ears," said Senior Supervisor Elsa Popchak.
Popchak says they run a 24-hour tip hotline and every tip is welcomed.
"Everything that gets called to our 696-kids is documented, our calls are recorded." said Popchak.
Both Earcielee Chisholm and Demershion Taylor are being held on a $250,000 bond each.
If you have a tip you'd like to call in to CFS, call 216-696-KIDS (5437).
