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YOUNGSTOWN -- A boy rescued from a locked dog cage during an Aug. 3 house fire told doctors and police he was routinely kept in a cage for several hours a day.
A Youngstown police report states the 11-year-old told authorities his father routinely made his mother and sister confine him in the cage for six hours each day.
The boy's father, Franklin Heisler, 67, and mother, Chu Yue Zheng, 33, turned themselves in Tuesday at the Mahoning County Sheriff's Office on third-degree felony charges of child endangering stemming from the investigation. Both remained in the Mahoning County jail Thursday.
The police report details the circumstances around the children's removal from the home and allegations they made to hospital personnel after the East Side fire at 1730 Forest View Drive.
An officer responded that day to Akron Children's in Boardman, where Mahoning County Children Services had taken the boy and his 10-year-old sister after the fire. The report states the case was referred to the Youngstown Police Department's Special Victims Unit.
A hospital social worker told police that CSB went to the Forest View home between 1 and 2 p.m. to take custody of the children and brought them to the hospital about 5 p.m. The social worker said the children made several disclosures during questioning.
The boy said he was inside the cage when the fire started and asked Heisler to let him out. The boy alleged Heisler then removed him from the cage and threw him into glass. The social worker reported that the boy had cuts on his head and that part of his hair had been shaved. The social worker also said the boy described a strong odor of urine in the house and said urine was frequently on the floor.
In interviews with local media after the fire, Heisler said his son sometimes played in the dog cage and had locked himself inside it the night of the fire. He denied putting the boy in the cage.
The 10-year-old girl also told hospital officials she did not feel safe around Heisler. She told authorities she was naked in a bed with Heisler when smoke from the fire started moving into the room, and he then took her to her mother's room. Hospital staff also told police that when they tried to help the girl shower, she asked whether anyone would see her private parts.
Police and firefighters were called to the Forest View Drive home shortly after midnight on Aug. 3, and authorities have stated they suspect arson. Three people escaped, while the boy was rescued from a first-floor bedroom.
A person who helped rescue the family told Youngstown Fire Investigator Charles Hodge that the boy was found inside a dog cage secured with three locks.
Court records show that both Heisler and Zheng are being held on $50,000 cash or surety bonds. They are both scheduled for a hearing Wednesday in front of Youngstown Municipal Court Judge Renee DiSalvo.
Online Municipal Court records show that subpoenas have been issued to at least one doctor and two other healthcare workers at Akron Children's, a social worker at Akron Children's, a Youngstown police detective and two CSB employees.
Court records do not show any previous criminal charges against either Heisler or Zheng in Youngstown or Mahoning County.