A Brevard County father and his girlfriend remain locked up without bond after police said they found the man's son locked in a bathroom, lying on the floor and extremely malnourished.
Michael Marshall, 38, and his live-in girlfriend, Sharon Glass, 48, were arrested late Thursday afternoon at Marshall's home on Barna Avenue, just a few blocks from Andrew Jackson Middle School.
Titusville police said they received a report about the child's living conditions. They said the boy had been kept in a cage within a closet, strapped to a bed or locked in the bathroom for days or weeks at a time over the last year.
Police said the boy is approximately 12 years old, and weighed only 40 pounds when they found him.
Both Marshall and Glass were home when detectives arrived, and said they were punishing the child for stealing food after it was being withheld from him.
Police compared the child's condition to that of a concentration camp survivor. He was treated for dehydration and malnutrition and released from the hospital.
The Florida Department of Children and Families has taken the boy into custody, along with two other, younger children living at the home. It was not immediately known if the other children had been subjected to the same type of punishment.
Marshall and Glass face three counts of aggravated child abuse for unlawful caging of a child, plus a charge of aggravated child neglect.
DCF confirms the agency had contacted the family in summer of 2010, after reports of issues with the eldest child. The agency said it appears the child was removed from school shortly after the investigation.
DCF said they've had several people offer to help the 12-year-old, whose birthday is next week. Anyone who wants to donate something for the child is asked to call Geo Ropert through Brevard Family Partnership at (321) 205-3155.