Parents of 7-Year-Old Boy Accuse of Imprisoning Him

The parents of a 7-year-old boy who told investigators he was held prisoner in a bathroom with dogs were jailed Friday on charges of injuring the child.

The boy told authorities he escaped through a bathroom window after two to four years’ imprisonment “because he just couldn’t take it anymore.” Child welfare officials took him to Ben Taub Hospital for treatment of severe malnutrition.

Investigators say they do not know what prompted the boy’s imprisonment.

His parents, Charlotte Anne Bishop, 42, and Alexander Lizcano Jimenez, 38, were arrested last week and charged with injury to a child by omission. They were jailed in lieu of $2,000 bond each.

Juvenile investigators say it is the worst incident of child neglect in the department’s history.

“What you have here is a boy who has been deprived of a childhood,” said juvenile officer A. G. DeWoody. “No television, no toys, no love. And I’m guessing, but he probably didn’t even play with his sisters and brothers.”

The boy has two sisters and a brother, all of whom are healthy, authorities said. In most cases of neglect, no charges are filed, DeWoody said. But this case was so severe that criminal action was sought.

“He’s filthy, not cared for, and severely neglected,” DeWoody said.

DeWoody said the boy, who was let out of the bathroom once a night for a cold meal, had shoulder-length hair and a bloated stomach caused by malnutrition.