4 children found padlocked inside Dickson County trailer

DICKSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Four children between the ages of 1-14 were found padlocked inside a home in Dickson County.

Detectives with the Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Children’s Services responded to the mobile home in Bruce Perry Trailer Park after a witness claimed the parents locked the children inside before leaving.

Earlier this week, a maintenance worker for Tri-Star Woods Mobile Home Community allegedly saw a woman place a padlock on the front door of the trailer home with small children inside.  

The next day, a welfare check call was made.  

“Seeing the lock on the outside of the door caused some deep concern for our witnesses and they instinctively knew this is not good and we need to get EMS out here to check on these children,” Tim Eads, Dickson County Sheriff said. 

Dickson County Sheriff, Tim Eads, said once sheriff deputies arrived, they knocked on the door. “No one would come to the door, so we made forceful entry and we found four children the ages between 1 to 14.”

According to an incident report, the trailer was filthy, the odor of the house was rancid, and there was no working A.C.

“The trailer was padlocked from the outside which creates a serious danger should the structure catch on fire,” Eads said.

According to the report, the 14-year-old child said her parents left 30 minutes earlier to get food. Not long after, the parents arrived on scene. When asked why the door was padlocked, they claimed their door was broken and they locked it because they feared their younger kids would try to leave.

“There is a language and cultural difference, they may have thought they were protecting the children,” Eads said.

However, Sheriff Eads said both parents were charged with child neglect and were placed in the Dickson County Jail. The parents remain in jail Wednesday, each with a $100,000 bond.