Police in Sweetwater, Florida discovered a autistic man being kept in “dungeon-like” conditions by his mother. (Google Maps)
Police discovered an autistic man in his mid-20s being kept in “dungeon-like” conditions in a trailer home in Sweetwater, Florida, reports NBC Miami.
Watch live @ 11p MT @nbc6: Autistic man was being kept in "dungeon-like conditions" in trailer home: Sweetwater PD http://t.co/9kkh0jy0vM
— Vanessa Morales (@NewsDeskChica) August 2, 2013
The Sweetwater Police Department said they received a call Thursday around 5 p.m. by an anonymous person saying that a mother kept her son in a small gated room while she left the house for extended periods of time. The caller pointed police to a trailer home at 11250 NW 3rd St.
No one was home when police went to the residence to investigate and gained entry with the help of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. Once inside, police said they found “a small room with a blacked-out window and a rusted iron door with a lock accessible only by the outside.” The room only had a mattress in it, had no lighting or bathroom and smelled strongly of feces, police said.
The mother and her son returned while police were searching the home and she was arrested while the man was taken to Kendall Regional Hospital for scratches and bruises. Charges are pending further investigation.
A neighbor told the Miami Herald that he often sees the woman, but never her son.
This story is developing. Stay tuned for updates.