Irma Navarro Shackled Son’s Ankles Over Fears of Gang Involvement


Irma Navarro, a California mom, was arrested and faces charges of child abuse after neighbors found her son with a chain wrapped around his legs.

According to ABC News, Navarro’s 10-year-old boy was found lying on the ground next to a tree outside the family’s apartment with chains wrapped around his ankles.

According to the report, two women had been walking by the apartment complex and saw the boy crying on the ground with a chain around his ankles and both legs.

The boy had told them his mother had shackled his legs according to Santa Ana Police Department spokesman Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.

Bertagna also said the boy was able to free himself from the apartment and had hopped out to the front courtyard of the complex to get help.

“He was on the ground and could definitely see a lot of fear in him, and he was crying,” neighbor Jose Salinas told ABC Los Angeles station KABC-TV.

“He had the chains around his ankles. I even noticed his pants when they were on, it looked like one pant leg.”

The report stated that the boy was able to cram the chains and his legs into a pair of shorts before making his way out.

When asked, Irma Navarro told police that she was concerned her son was getting involved with gangs in the neighborhood.

Bertagna stated:

“She was having a problem with her 10-year-old, who takes off and doesn’t come back until 9 or 10 at night. She’s afraid he’s getting tied up into gangs. It was a matter of frustration on her part, but it doesn’t justify committing a crime. That doesn’t justify shackling your kid.”

Navarro was booked into custody at the Santa Ana Jail on a charge of willful cruelty to a child. Her bail was set at $100,000, according to Bertagna. She is expected to be arraigned in court on Monday.

In the meantime, Irma Navarro’s 10-year-old son, along with her two other children, have been taken by child protective services to the Orangewood Children’s Home in Orange California.

[photo credit: gin_able via photopin cc]

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