San Antonio:
On Thursday, around 11:45 p.m., BCSO deputies were called to a house on the 8100 block of Chipping. A caller told dispatchers a child could be heard crying in the backyard for a long period of time. When deputies arrived, they found two toddlers in the backyard.
The neighbor suspected abuse. When deputies arrived, they didn't just find two toddlers in the back yard.
The boy had a metal chain strapped around his ankle, with the other end of the chain fixed to the ground, Keith said, adding: "It was the same kind of setup you would use for a dog." Both children were taken to the hospital, and the girl was being treated for a broken arm, he said.
"It's sickening. To call this horrific would be an understatement," he said.
The deputies finally entered the house, where they found six other unsupervised kids ranging between 10 months and 13 years in age. The other toddler they'd found earlier, the one with the broken arm, was tied to the back door of the house with a dog leash. The toddlers were transported to a local hospital, while the six kids found in the house were placed with child welfare.
The mother of those six children, 34-year-old Porucha Phillips, was later arrested, Keith said. He said Phillips was being held at a county magistrate's office facing two charges of injury to a child by omission. One of the charges alleges serious bodily injury.
Keith said authorities believe that Phillips was also responsible for the two children found outside.
Porucha was allegedly baby-sitting those two.
Authorities believe Phillips was supposed to be taking care of the two children in the backyard, and their parents are being sought.
The toddlers were admitted to Children's Hospital for treatment of a range of maladies in addition to the broken arm. As for the 34 year-old "mother" of six, she'll be in the slammer for a while; additional charges are expected.
