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The 15-year-old boy, who has autism, had his hands “bound at the wrists” when he ran into a local grocery store on Wednesday, according to police in California, who would also find a 12-year-old girl in the same house they say “nobody should be living in.”
A naked teenage boy’s shocking arrival in a local grocery story in Ceres, California on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 26, has resulted in both him and another child being removed from a home police described as “deplorable,” and three adults arrested.
According to a statement released by the Ceres Police Department, officers responded at 1:39 p.m. to reports of a “nude male running near Hatch Road and Richland Avenue.” He then apparently made his way into the grocery store.
“I could hear people gasp like, you know, like a sound of shock and I turned and when I did, the young gentleman was coming across the front end with no clothes on,” Rebecca Renard, the Cost Less Foods senior head clerk told NBC affiliate KCRA.
David Avila, a manager at the store, said his team immediately knew “this kid is in trouble and we need to get him help.” He told KCRA they covered him with a coat and called 911. “Just kept telling him everything is going to be okay and kept patting him,” he shared.
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The 15-year-old, who has autism, was found by police inside the grocery story with his hands “bound at the wrist.” Renard said that when she first saw him she noticed he was also “dragging a rope” from his left ankle, speculating it was “where he broke loose.”
Police confirmed the discovery of “indicators that he may have been bound at the ankles with multiple visible injuries,” per the release. He was also described by Renard as “very thin” and with “75 to 100, maybe more bruises, several bruises all over his body,” per KCRA.
“Emergency medical aid was dispatched to the scene, and the juvenile was transported to a local hospital for treatment,” police stated in their release.
At the same time, police reported that the teen’s mother, Leandra Renteria, 36 (above left) arrived at the store looking for her son as police were investigating. Upon learning that she had another child, a 12-year-old girl also diagnosed with autism, police conducted a welfare check on the home, where they found the child and two other adults.
While they stated they found the girl “safe in the home,” the inside of the house itself was described as “in poor condition.” Jeff Godfrey, a lieutenant with CPD, told KCRA, “The living conditions were, you know, feces and urine throughout the house, strong odors, things that are very strong health hazards that nobody should be living in.”
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The outlet reports that neighbors said the outside of the house meanwhile, was “picture perfect,” with signs reading “autism awareness” in the yard.
One neighbor told the outlet she would sometimes hear banging and shouting coming from inside, and one time claimed to have seen the boy running outside with no shirt or shoes on as the adults tried to convince him to come back inside.
Ultimately, after further investigating the situation, Renteria was arrested, as were the boy’s grandmother Lenore Wilson, 54 (above center), and her husband Gary Wilson, 58 (above right), with all three charged with child abuse and neglect.
They were booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center. According to KCRA, Renteria was still there as of last Thursday, but the Wilsons are no longer in custody.
The two children were removed from the home and are in the care of Child Protective Services.
If you are experiencing or witness child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. If you believe a child is in immediate danger, call 911.
