CHILLICOTHE, Ohio— The Chillicothe Police Department is investigating an alleged case of child abuse after two young kids were found wandering a west side neighborhood. This the second reported case this week of children being found walking the streets alone.
According to a report obtained by the Guardian, officers were dispatched to the Chillicothe Intermediate School at 345 Arch Street after a woman told police she found two young kids walking along the street.
The children, reports say, told the good-smaritan that they had run away from their babysitter and were scared to go back.
One of the children told police that their babysitter allegedly “forced them to eat hot sauce, choked them, and beat them with a plastic toy race track.”
Officers requested a case worker from Child Protective Services to respond to the scene.
The mother of the two children also arrived and told officers that she worked two jobs, and one was a night shift.
The babysitter of the children also arrived and told officers that she layed down to take a nap because she was not feeling well. When she woke up, she noticed her front door was unlocked, and the children were gone. The woman went on to tell officers that she immediatly got into her car and started driving around the area looking for the children.
Child Protective Services released the children back into the car of the mother with the condition that the children were not to be in contact with the babysitter while the case remained under investigation.
The Guardian could not independently verify these claims of abuse, but officers did say that charges could be forthcoming.