East Tennessee couple arrested after autistic girl found in wooden cage

A Jonesborough, Tenn., couple face child abuse charges after deputies with the Washington County Sheriff's Office found a 10-year-old autistic girl locked in a wooden cage surrounded by dog feces on Monday evening.

Patricia Laws, 43, and Mickey Sparks, 69, may face additional charges after the Department of Child Services and the Sheriff's Office conclude their investigation, according to Capt. Shawn Judy of the Sheriff's Office.

Around 5 p.m., deputies responded to a home at 151 Miller Crossing Road in Jonesborough after receiving an anonymous tip through E-911 that a child was locked in the cage.

Upon arrival, Laws told deputies there was no domestic trouble and allowed them to come inside the home to conduct a welfare check, Judy said.

Deputies almost immediately saw what Judy described as a "makeshift wooden cage" in the corner of a bedroom at the end of a hallway. Judy said the cage was "almost like a crib for a child," only it was on the ground with a twin-size mattress taking up most of the space.

Judy said the cage was 4.5-feet-tall, more than 7-feet-long and around 4-feet-wide. The walls of the bedroom constituted the back and one side of the cage, the other side was built with two-by-fours and wooden slats, and the front was a wooden door, locked with a padlock. The cage had no ceiling.

Deputies found dog urine and feces on the tile floor outside of the cage, and "the cage smelled like human feces; it stunk," Judy said.

Deputies were told the 10-year-old girl inside the cage is autistic, and she is one of a pair of twins. She "appeared to be fine," Judy said.

During her arraignment Tuesday, Laws said she put the girl in the cage because "she's easier to control," according to Judy.

The girl, her 10-year-old brother, and a 13-year-old boy and girl, also fraternal twins, were removed from the home by the Department of Children's Services. The 10-year-old twins were Laws' and Sparks' children, whereas the 13-year-olds are Laws' children and Sparks adopted them, Judy said.

All four children are now in foster homes, Judy said.

Authorities are still investigating how long the girl was locked in the cage, as well as the condition of all four children.

Laws and Sparks were arrested and are being held in the Washington County Jail on a $50,000 bond each. Their next court date is Feb. 16.