Mother Arrested for Chaining up Child, Leaving him Alone

SANTA ANA – On Thursday, July 18 at approximately 11:40 a.m., officers were dispatched to the 700 block of S. Lyon St in response to a report that a child was discovered in the courtyard of the apartment complex.

Irma Jacobo Navarro

Upon arrival, officers spotted a 10-year-old lying on the cement  and found that he had a long aluminum chained wrapped approximately 4 to 5 times around his ankles, and a black, metal “Master Lock” connected to the chain and locked.  The child was wearing a tee with a collar and denim shorts.

Two of his legs were in one pant leg of his shorts as a result of his incapacity to break free of the chains.  Responding police officers could not dislodge the lock or move the chains.  They had to use bolt cutters.  After the chain was removed, the officer noticed slight abrasions and redness around the victim’s ankles.  The child said he felt pain in both of his lower legs.

The witness reported that she and a friend were strolling down 700 S. Lyon St., when they spotted a boy sagging against a tree crying.  When the witness approached the child she saw that a chain and lock was wrapped around two ankles.  She explained that the boy had complications standing up or walking.  The witness asked the victim if he needed assistance, to which he responded yes.  She asked the child how the chained lock became wrapped around his ankles. The boy said, “My mom did this to me.”  The child’s mother, Irma Navarro, was at work and the boy did not have a way of reaching his mother, or finding the lock’s key.

Further examination into the case affirmed that Navarro was a mother of three children.  One child was with a babysitter, the other was at school and the boy was placed in chains because while the mother was working, because he reportedly left the home without permission and would not come back until dark.  Navarro tried to explain to officials that the chains were a precaution so he would not get into trouble or hang out with a dangerous group of kids while she was working.

Subsequent to her police interview, Irma Jacobo Navarro was detained and transported to Santa Ana Jail, where she was booked for 273a(b) PC Willful Curelty to Child.  All three children were put into protective custody by social services.

Read more:

KTLA 5:  O.C. Mother of 3 Arrested After Boy Found Chained

O.C. Register:  Santa Ana mom arrested in chaining of son

Santa Ana PD News Release:  Mother arrested for Willful Cruelty to a Child