Newark

NJ Woman Arrested After Foster Child Found Chained, Padlocked to Fan in Bedroom: Police

A New Jersey woman faces charges after a foster child she was looking after was found by police tethered to a fan by chains and padlocks, police said.

Newark police officers were performing a wellness check on a 12-year-old boy at a home on Clinton Avenue just after 10 a.m. Wednesday. When inside the home, the officers found the boy kept in a bedroom, in chains and padlocked to a fan, according to Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose.

The boy, who is a foster child in the care of Wanser Brown, was brought to the hospital for evaluation before being released into the custody of the New Jersey Department of Child Protection and Permanency.

Brown, 66, was arrested and charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Attorney information for Brown was not immediately available.

An investigation by the Special Victims Unit of the Newark Police and the Essex County Prosecutor's Office is ongoing.

Contact Us