Medical professionals working in hospitals never quite know what the day will bring. Some days, they encounter cases that will live with them forever. Tragically, many of those involve children and abuse. In March 2024, staff at a Pennsylvania hospital called the Newberry Township Police Department about a potential child abuse case. Staff from York County Children and Youth Services brought two children to the hospital who appeared severely neglected. When police went to the children’s home, they found conditions that truly shocked them.
An 8-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl lived with their mother, 31-year-old Ashley Cardona, and grandmother, 53-year-old Lori Cardona, in Manchester, WHP reported. The caller told police the boy allegedly lived in a cage and the girl sat strapped in a car seat for 20 hours a day. Police executed a search warrant of the home a short time later and made a shocking discovery.
According to court documents obtained by WHP, police found a “cage-like structure, incorporating external locking mechanisms.” Police spoke with Michael Cardona, the children’s biological uncle, who reportedly admitted to helping create the cage where the boy slept by putting a crib on top of another crib.
Police noted the cage smelled strongly of urine and reportedly had feces caked on the railing. The children had no access to toothpaste or toothbrushes, and their dental hygiene reportedly suffered tremendously.
“Both children had reportedly not left the home in approximately two years and had not received routine medical or dental care since 2019,” court documents state, per WHP.
According to court records, York County Children and Youth Services conducted multiple visits to the home prior to the March 2024 hospitalization and found the children in restraints while caregivers slept or were absent.
“Medical providers expressed concern for medical neglect, developmental delay, and physical abuse and recommended emergency evaluation rather than outpatient care,” police noted in the report.
Authorities removed the children from the home and placed them in care together. They noted significant improvement after the pair was placed with a family in York, WHP reported. Investigators released photos and medical records to Penn State Health Children’s Hospital Center for Protection of Children for “expert review.”
A doctor confirmed the children’s case fit the criteria for child torture. “Child torture was described as a longitudinal pattern of physical abuse combined with two or more forms of psychological maltreatment,” according to court records obtained by WHP. “Unlike isolated incidents of physical abuse, child torture is premeditated, pervasive, and impacts all aspects of a child’s daily life, resulting in significant physical, emotional, and developmental harm.”
Police arrested Ashley Cardona, Lori Cardona, and Michael Cardona on multiple charges on February 25, 2026. They include assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and imprisonment. A judge set their bond at $250,000 each.
No child deserves this kind of treatment. To think a grandmother and uncle could help the children’s mother to abuse and neglect them like this is truly maddening. May they all receive the punishment they deserve.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
