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Dad Caged Daughters While He Worked

Girls, 2 and 5, found locked in wire cage in father's truck

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 4, 2008 3:05 AM CDT

(Newser) – An Illinois father has confessed to keeping his two young daughters locked in a cage in his truck while he worked, the Chicago Tribune reports. The trash and scrap-metal collector told police that he kept the girls, ages 2 and 5, locked up because he couldn't find a babysitter—and he didn't want them to run away. He was arrested after a woman heard one of the children sobbing.

"My dad tightens both of us with his belt by my leg and my sister was on the other side of the cage tight with another belt," one of the girls told investigators. The children's mother was investigated for neglect in 2006, but the girls remained with the family. They are now in foster care and their father faces a misdemeanor child endangerment charge, which may be upgraded to a felony.

A booking photo of Ricardo Gonzalez, 35. Gonzalez was arrested after officials say a woman spotted him pushing a child's hands back into a cage at a gas station .
A booking photo of Ricardo Gonzalez, 35. Gonzalez was arrested after officials say a woman spotted him pushing a child's hands back into a cage at a gas station .   (AP Photo/Posen Police Department)
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