GRANDMA ARRESTED AFTER SIX-YEAR-OLD BOY WAS TIED UP IN SHED 'FOR STEALING FOOD '

Three children have been taken away by social services and place in foster care after Texas police found a six-year-old in a shed with his hands tied behind his back.

A six-year-old boy found with his hands tied behind his back in a shed having been punished for stealing food, it is alleged.

Police were called to the Dallas, Texas, home of Esmeralda Lira on Sunday night following a report from a member of the public.

The 53-year-old grandmother told the officers that the child was with his mother.


A man living behind the property contested her claim, suggesting that the six-year-old was actually in the shed.

The police officers said they found him with his hands tied behind his back, wbtv reported.



Lira's 64-year-old Jose Balderas said the child had been punished for two weeks for stealing food.

The child said he had been forced to sleep in the shed after the punishment began when his school shut due to the coronavirus.

The six-year-old and his siblings have been taken away from the home and will be placed in foster care.

Lira and Balderas face felony charges for endangering a child.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services confirmed it is investigating