New Jersey mother accused of chaining 10-year-old son to radiator for weeks

By David Jones NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - A New Jersey mother of six and her boyfriend were charged with chaining her 10-year-old son to a radiator for two weeks, police said on Tuesday. "This level of depravity inflicted upon a child is chilling," Camden County Police Chief J. Scott Thomson said in a statement. "We're just thankful that the child had the opportunity to escape and report what was going on." Florence Pollard, 31, and Brian Craig, 29, were being held in Camden County jail on a $50,000 bond each. The boy escaped from his home and was found by a neighbor who called police, Thomson said. The boy told police his mother chained him to a radiator in her bedroom as a punishment, forcing him to sleep uncovered on the floor at night. When police went to the house, they found a metal chain and lock attached to a radiator pipe. They also said the boy was sometimes handcuffed to the radiator with plastic zip ties. Pollard's children, who range in age from 7 months to 11 years old, have been removed from the home and are in state custody, police said. Investigators are trying to determine whether any of the other children had been abused. Craig is the father of Pollard's 7-month-old girl, police said. (Reporting by David Jones; Editing by Chris Francescani and Lisa Shumaker)