Tucson-area couple arrested for keeping kids locked up at home
Feb 22, 2018, 4:31 AM
The mugshots of 69-year-old Benito Gutierrez and 64-year-old Carol Gutierrez (Photo: Pima County Sheriff's Department)
(Photo: Pima County Sheriff's Department)
PHOENIX — A couple in southern Arizona has been arrested on suspicion of child abuse for allegedly keeping four children locked in rooms and depriving them of food, light and bathroom facilities.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office said officials arrested 69-year-old Benito Gutierrez and 64-year-old Carol Gutierrez on three counts of child abuse each.
Deputies were first called to the Gutierrez’s residence in the 4100 block of Flowing Wells Road on Feb. 17. They were first called to the home due to suspicious activity involving a child.
One of the children in the home asked to use the phone at a Family Dollar store in the area. The clerk noticed the age and disheveled condition of the child and called 911.
Deputies later uncovered four children at the residence, aged 6 to 12.
The children were kept in separate bedrooms, which were locked from the outside, with no access to food, water, lights or bathroom facilities, the sheriff’s office said. One bedroom had a bucket as a toilet.
The kids were locked up for 12 hours at a time on a regular basis.
The sheriff’s department said the child who asked to use the phone at the Family Dollar store escaped from the home through a bedroom window.
The Gutierrez’s have been booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Complex. No bail was immediately set and online court records didn’t show either suspect had an attorney who could comment on the allegations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
