LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. (WGAL) – A Pennsylvania woman is accused of chaining her 11-year-old son to a basement fuel tank for hours.
The reason, according to authorities, was because she said he ate too many hot dogs.
Chazzity Candelario now faces charges of false imprisonment, unlawful restraint and endangering the welfare of a child.
“The little boy is the victim and he was actually the one that called 911,” Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said.
That little boy was 11 years old and told investigators the type of punishment was not out of the ordinary for him.
“He sustains this type of treatment and has, and dates prior to this one that he has not ever witnessed his siblings having the same punishments,” Graf described.
It started on Jan. 11 when investigators say 33-year-old Candelario woke the victim up at 5 a.m. for not following a house rule by eating too many hot dogs.
“She starts berating him that he ate too many hot dogs in the days prior,” Graf said. “She saw it on the cameras and he was going to get his punishment.”
That’s when Candelario allegedly took her son to the basement.
“Grabbed the handcuffs and she actually handcuffed him to the fuel tank. Mom then leaves and goes about her day,” Graf said.
The victim was stuck in the frigid basement for hours.
“He winds up being able to weasel his way free from the oil tank,” Graf said. “So, he has a bunk bed in his room. He goes upstairs and he actually recuffs himself to his bed because the concern is, ‘When mom gets home and I’m not cuffed to the oil tank anymore, what’s going to happen to me? What’s going to happen to my siblings?’”
That marks nearly 17 hours where the child has had no food, water or access to a bathroom.
“He is just cuffed to his bed and finally, he gets a cellphone from his sibling and he’s able to call 911,” Graf stated.
Shortly after that, police arrive at the home.
“They find the child, and mom admits, ‘Yeah, I chained him to the oil tank that morning,” Graf said.
Candelario is being held on a $100,000 bond at the Lebanon County jail.
Copyright 2025 WGAL via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
