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SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Jan 11, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A Santa Barbara, Calif., woman has been arrested on charges she kept two of her adopted children in cages and a third in a filthy, locked room, a report said.
Police said a tip led them last week to the home of day-care provider Sylvia Vasquez, 50, where three of her adopted children lived in squalor, The Los Angeles Times reported.
The three were undernourished and wearing urine- and feces-soiled clothing. A fourth child, a 12-year-old girl, appeared to be well cared for, police said.
A 6-year-old girl told investigators she slept in a "cage" mounted on a wall above her bed.
A 9-year-old said she slept in a plywood box with a small window and exterior lock, which police said were damaged "as if someone had tried to escape from this confined space."
A 13-year-old boy stayed in a room with an excrement-filled bucket.
The children were moved to protective custody and police sought more information on Vasquez's day-care operation.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
