2 children imprisoned, subjected to ‘deplorable conditions,’ police say

A San Jacinto mother and father who sheriff’s deputies said locked their children nightly in a room in “deplorable conditions” for a year were charged Thursday with misdemeanor child abuse.

Deputies and Riverside County Child Protective Service workers went to the home of Emily Tardy, 29, and Steven Crane, 38, this week after they received a report of suspected child abuse from a person at their younger son’s school who is required to alert authorities in such cases.

In a news release, deputies said their investigation determined that the two children were “deliberately confined to a single room … absent any access to a restroom facility or basic needs for what deputies determined had occurred over a year.” The couple were arrested and their children taken into protective services custody.

In an interview, Deputy Mike Vasquez said the confinement happened at night and that the conditions were “extremely unsanitary.” He declined to provide additional details, citing the investigation.

Tardy’s mother, who declined to give her name, said her daughter was trying to protect her boys after they sneaked out of their room a couple of times at night.

“They turned on the stove and started a fire. They snuck out and played in the playground,” she said. “Emily and Steven are good parents. They love their children.”

The boys, she said, “can be a little bit rambunctious.”

Neighbor Devante Williams said he saw the boys, who he said are about 7 and 8 years old, playing outside almost every day. Their mother stays home and their father works the graveyard shift at a casino and isn’t usually around at night, Williams said. During the days, the father occasionally took his sons to swim at a nearby pool, Williams said.

The family often kept their blinds open and Williams said he frequently saw the children eating dinner and watching TV with their parents. The boys also often went to stay with their grandparents, he said.

“If I had any indication, any signs, they were doing that, I would have called someone myself,” Williams said.

Though the couple were arrested on suspicion of felony child abuse, John Hall, a spokesman with the district attorney’s office, said they were charged instead with two counts of misdemeanor child abuse “based on the evidence that we have from law enforcement right now.” The investigation, he said, is ongoing.

Dawn Lawrence, a spokeswoman for the San Jacinto Unified School District, said in a statement that the report of abuse was initiated by someone at the district. The younger boy was a student there, and his older sibling had transferred to an outside program a couple of weeks ago.

“Both of these students had regular attendance in SJUSD schools prior to this occurrence,” Supt. Diane Perez said in the statement.

“Our hearts are with our kids at this time, and our hope is for a swift and complete probe into the allegations,” she added.

[email protected]

Twitter: @palomaesquivel