Both suspects have been charged with injury to a child and unlawful restraint to a child under 17.
SAN ANTONIO — A man and woman have been accused of handcuffing two of their children to their beds several times, according to court documents.
On Monday, officials were called to the 1100 block of Tecumseh Drive for a call of unlawful restraint and injury to a child.
Officials made contact with a woman and her 7-year-old child. The child had been visiting her father, 30-year-old David Gonzalez, over the weekend, according to an arrest affidavit.
When the woman returned to the residence that day, the child told her that Gonzales handcuffed one of her hands to her bed while her stepmother, Anita Valdez, handcuffed her other hand to the bed. The child said she fell asleep with the handcuffs still on until she woke up and her 9-year-old sister took them off.
The woman said she called Gonzales and asked if she had handcuffed their child, to which he said he did, and asked if she wanted to know why. The woman said she angrily hung up the phone.
Officials then detained Gonzales and Valdez at a separate location. Both suspects denied handcuffing the child, however Valdez did admit to owning a pair of Spirit Halloween handcuffs.
Eventually Valdez told police that she handcuffs her 6-year-old child every night due to alleged “mental health and behavioral issues.”
Investigators say there was some inconsistencies between Gonzales and Valdez’s statements.
Gonzales said he went to bed at 7 p.m., but Valdez said she came home at 9 p.m. and Gonzales was still awake. Gonzales told officials that the children were asleep when he returned home and that he did not see the first child restrained with handcuffs.
The 7-year-old child then told investigators that Valdez was the one who handcuffed her, not Gonzales. She said the handcuffs hurt and were tight on her wright.
Two other children, both Valdez’s children who live with her and Gonzales, said that Valdez is the one who handcuffed both children “for their safety.”
Officials searched the home and found two sets of handcuffs on one of the children’s beds and one more set attached to the other child’s bed, along with a ratchet strap also tied to the bed.
Both children were interviewed again. The 7-year-old said that her wrist hurt and turned cold, also exhibiting redness on her wrist afterwards. She said she was handcuffed the whole night until the morning when she asked one of the other children to release her, according to the affidavit.
The child also said that the two suspects handcuff her “all the time.” She also said when they got in trouble the suspects would force them to eat “chillis.”
The 6-year-old child said that she also gets handcuffed all the time by both Valdez and Gonzales. She said that the last time she was handcuffed she was caught eating in the bathroom because she was still hungry, revealing that she allegedly only was allowed to eat once a day. She also mentioned how while one wrist was handcuffed the other was tied to a rope.
She also said that Gonzales hits her with a belt. Bruises were found on the child on both of her legs and her upper thighs.
Like the other child, she said that Gonzales makes her eat chili pequins that he makes her pick from the outside bush. She also said she was given gummies that “tasted nasty” that made her sleepy. She also alleges that Valdez puts oil on her cuts and bruises that burn so that she “won’t get in trouble.”
She went on to say she didn’t feel safe at Gonzales’ house.
Both Gonzales and Valdes have been charged with injury to a child and unlawful restraint to a child under 17. Valdez faces an additional unlawful restraint charge as well. They both have been released on bond according to jail records.