Tennessee autistic child found caged at family home

Ma**holes rejoice! Tens of thousands of Patriots fans turn out in Boston for Super Bowl championship parade starring Tom Brady and teammates - stripping off in the snow, downing alcohol and taking hits at Roger Goodell
Man suspected of raping and murdering Queens jogger 'told police how he "lost it" and choked her' in a videotaped 'confession' without his lawyers present
Mother is sentenced to 16 years in prison for incest, sodomy and sex abuse of her son beginning when he was FOUR
What NOT to say to someone with cancer, according to 6 patients
Why pregnant women should NEVER drink from plastic bottles: They contain hormone-disrupting toxins that could make your baby obese
Autistic child, 10, found locked in a wooden cage in their own filth as parents are arrested for child abuse
Out-of-control Dr Phil 'cash me ousside girl', 13, is kicked off Spirit Airlines flight after she 'attacked a fellow passenger who threatened her mom'
Outrage at Colorado sheriff's officer who kept bloody evidence from a decade-old murder case hidden in his storage shed
'I'd be very worried about your perverted friend': Father receives a stern warning after revealing his best pal is dating his teenage daughter
EXCLUSIVE: 'She greeted me wearing a tight gray T-shirt with two red cherries on the front. I told her I'd like to pick her cherries.' Anna Nicole Smith's fitness trainer breaks his silence on 10th anniversary of her death
High school student, 15, was 'expelled when she told staff a star athlete, 18, forced her to perform oral sex and was criticized for attracting unwanted sexual attention'
Why we fall into a 'Facebook hole': researchers say our perception of time is ALTERED when we go online
Don't mention Melissa McCarthy! Sean Spicer gets through White House press briefing without mentioning SNL parody (and doesn't use a super soaker on reporters)
'This is all on me': Homeland Security chief John Kelly falls on his sword and admits he should have delayed Trump travel ban until Congress heard details
Enter Rosie? Trump's nemesis O'Donnell says she will play Steve Bannon on SNL if she's asked as it's claimed the President is furious about his aides being portrayed by women
'There's tremendous dishonesty, pure outright dishonesty from the media,' Trump charges after White House publishes list of 78 terror attacks that the press 'ignored' - including Orlando, San Bernardino and Nice truck attack
Mother of British traveler who was murdered in Australia slams Trump for claiming her death was actually a terror attack ignored by the media
Pence makes unprecedented tie-breaking vote to confirm controversial education pick - after Senate debates her through the night
'Mike Pence made out with a hot dog!' Protesters brandish witty signs which insult Trump, DeVos, and Bannon, using quotes from cult movie Mean Girls' catty Burn Book
China cozies up to Ivanka and Jared as the White House dials back its attacks on Beijing
92% of left-wing activists live with their parents and one in three is unemployed, study of Berlin protesters finds
Putin orders Russia's air forces to prepare 'for a time of war' with 'special attention paid to air defence systems and readiness to repel aggression'
O'Reilly won't back down: Fox News host refuses to apologize to the Kremlin for calling Putin a 'killer' during Trump interview
'Step up and speak out': Hillary Clinton makes a rallying cry for women to rise up against the Trump administration as she speaks on video to say 'the future is female'

Police visited a Tennessee home after tip off a child was being mistreated
Found an autistic girl, 10, locked in a cage which smelled of urine and feces
Mickey Sparks and Patricia Laws were charged with aggravated child abuse
Youngster and three other children were removed from their home

By Hannah Parry For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

Published: 11:27 EST, 7 February 2017 | Updated: 14:39 EST, 7 February 2017

e-mail

View
comments

A couple have been arrested after police found a young autistic girl locked in a cage and living in their own filth at their Tennessee home.

Mickey Sparks, 69, and 43-year-old Patricia Laws, have both been charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect over the incident.

Deputies had visited their rural Jonesborough home in Northeast Tennessee after receiving a tip off that the ten-year-old was being mistreated.

Mickey Sparks, 69, (left) and 43-year-old Patricia Laws, (right) have both been charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect over the incident

Deputies had visited their rural Jonesborough home (pictured) in Northeast Tennessee after receiving a tip off that their autistic ten-year-old was being mistreated

When they arrived at round 5pm on Monday, they were shocked to find the girl locked inside a wooden cage with nothing but an old mattress for company.

The cage, located in a bedroom, smelled strongly of urine and feces, they reported.

When officers confronted Laws, she said that the girl 'was autistic and they were able to control the child better by locking her up.'

She referred to the cage as a 'safe room' and tried to claim that the Department of Children Services, DCS, had approved it.

At that point, Sparks arrived home and backed up Laws, claiming the DCS had visited the home and seen the cage on a number of occasions, Johnson City Press reports.

He added that he had cameras trained on the cage to monitor the girl while she was in the cage.

The police reported that the young girl did not appear to be in distress when they found her. DCS confirmed that there had been several referrals in the family's history but there had never been a mention of a cage before.

The Department of Children's Services responded and rescued the child, and also removed three other children who were living at the home.

The Department of Children's Services responded and rescued the child, and also removed three other kids who were living at the home (Laws pictured with four children on Facebook)

Both Sparks and Laws (pictured) were charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect and are being held at the Washington County Detention Center pending arraignment

Laws' Facebook page, where she says she worked for ACT, is full of loving posts about her children

Both Sparks and Laws were charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect and are being held at the Washington County Detention Center pending arraignment.

Laws' Facebook page, where she says she worked for ACT, is full of loving posts about her children.

One such message was posted alongside of a video of her children riding a mechanical bull with the message: 'You have grown so much and I can't express just how much I love you all. I thank god for bleessing(sic) me with such wonderful kids.'

It is not clear whether the autistic ten-year-old child was with her at the time.