Ohio couple put boy in cage, made him wear shock collar

When Jessica Botzko's son was a baby, authorities temporarily removed him from her care when she was charged with child endangering. Nearly a decade later, the boy took matters into his own hands, authorities said.

Botzko is again accused of child endangerment after her 10-year-old son ran away from home with his younger brother and told investigators he was tired of being put in a dog cage, police said. The older boy also had been forced to wear a remote-controlled shock collar, authorities said.



At least once the 10-year-old boy was made to wear the collar - designed as a training device for animals - while inside the cage and was repeatedly shocked, court documents said. The cage, less than 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide, had a chain across the top with two locks on each end, said police Capt. Ray Carroll.

"He had to tuck his knees into his chest and he fell asleep in there on a couple occasions," Carroll said. "It wasn't continuous. It was probably on and off for punishment."

Botzko, 28, and John Westover, 37, appeared briefly in court Thursday on charges of child endangerment and making or selling drugs in front of the children.