A grandmother in Dallas, Texas, is behind bars after her 6-year-old grandson was found locked inside a shed on her property — on Mother's Day of all days. Esmeralda Lira, 53, was booked on child endangerment charges along with her boyfriend, Jose Balderas, 66, on Sunday, according to KXXV. Both were being held at Dallas County Jail as an investigation into the matter continues, and police have discovered more evidence of abuse.
The unnamed boy was found after police were called to perform a welfare check on the home, which is in southeast Dallas.
It's unclear who exactly alerted authorities, but when they arrived Sunday night and knocked on Lira's front door, she initially claimed the boy was with his mother. It didn't take long for police to determine she was lying.
Officers walked around the back of the home — which news footage later showed was riddled with debris and other discarded items — where they soon found another man was living, according to CBS Local. It was he who directed them toward a dilapidated shed nearby.
There, the boy was found bound with his arms behind his back -- frightened but alive.
Medics immediately evaluated him but did not take him to a hospital because further treatment wasn't needed.
Instead, the boy was removed from the home by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and placed in foster care — along with his 7-year-old sister and 4-year-old brother.
Even more alarming is just how long the boy was left there.
According to CBS Local, the grandmother reportedly told police that the punishment was a one-time thing. But her boyfriend sang a different tune. Balderas allegedly told police that the boy had been locked inside the shed for at least two weeks after stealing food.
When the boy sat down with officers, it was clear the alleged abuse started even earlier — when he "got out of school for this corona thing," he said.
The disturbing story is yet another reminder of just how many people are living under the increased threat of domestic violence now.
In fact, the global pandemic has triggered a rise in abuse cases among both children and adults that is being called the other Covid-19 crisis. A report by the New York Times last month found that calls to abuse hotlines had increased significantly — not just in the US but in countries throughout the world.
“During the epidemic, we were unable to go outside, and our conflicts just grew bigger and bigger and more and more frequent," one woman told the New York Times about the abuse she suffered before recently leaving her husband. “Everything was exposed."
But for children, who aren't exactly calling hotlines or may feel they have no one to turn to for help, the current situation is bleak.
“What we’re seeing is that the normal avenues that would provide some respite from what is going on inside the house — schools, community contacts, and work — those things don’t exist right now,” Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings recently told the Wall Street Journal.
For many on the front lines, this isn't just speculation. As early as late March, reports had surfaced of a rise in abuse cases in Texas, after children were being treated for injuries at a Fort Worth hospital. At the time, Dr. Jayme Coffman, medical director of the CARE team at Cook Children’s, told NBC News that six separate cases came in during the span of one week — all related to physical abuse. Typically, the hospital sees a max of eight such cases a month.
“Thursday night, we had one child admitted with unfortunately, life-threatening injuries, which they succumbed to, as well as four other children in the emergency department at the same time who were treated and released,” Coffman said. “It was like, we have to reach out to the community.”
Of course, there's no way to know for sure whether the abuse was in some way sparked by Covid-19 or the quarantine, but according to Coffman, “it’s hard to think that it’s just coincidental."
As for Lira, she and her boyfriend remain in custody and face some steep consequences.
In addition to their bonds being set at $100,000 each, court records showed that the couple are Mexican citizens and have been living in the United States illegally, the AP reported. As a result, immigration holds have been placed on both as they await their trial.
The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline is available 24/7 to aid in child abuse situations. It's available for both those who want to report abuse as well as those afraid they might abuse a child. Call (800) 422-4453 or text (800) 422-4453.
