8 children, 2 tied up in backyard, rescued from Texas home https://t.co/UVUcivcmfN
Texas police have arrested a woman after two toddlers who were found tied and chained outside of a house on Thursday night. Six other children were also found unaccompanied inside the home.
Officers from the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office received a call around 11:45 p.m. Thursday from someone who reported having heard a child crying outside for “a long period of time,” according to a statement posted to the sheriff’s Facebook page.
When authorities arrived at the house, located in northeast Bexar County, they found two toddlers — a 2-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl — in the backyard.
“One was chained to the ground; the other was tied to a door with a dog leash,” the statement read.
Both children were transported to a nearby children’s hospital and have been treated for a variety of issues. One suffered from a broken arm, police said.
"I would describe it as disgusting," Bexar County District Attorney Nicholas LaHood said of the scene, according to the Associated Press. "It shocks your conscience when you think what kind of individual could treat children, who in my opinion are gifts from God, like this."
An additional six children — ranging from 10 months to 13 years old — were found inside the home, officers said. They are now in the care of Child Protective Services. Officers were concerned they may have been malnourished.
Early Friday morning, the parents of the six children returned to the residence and were immediately taken into custody and questioned by police.
Later on Friday, officers arrested the mother of the six children who were found inside the house, Porucha Phillips, who faces charges of two counts of injury to a child by omission with bodily injuries.
The families had no prior history with CPS, authorities said, but they are now looking into whether or not someone may have been running a daycare at the residence.