How not to discipline a child

15-year-old found chained to bed railing at home in Lebanon (TN).

Lebanon police officers found a malnourished 15-year-old boy chained to a bed railing at his parents' home Tuesday, police officials said.

The boy's father, James Osborne III, and his stepmother, Christie Osborne, were charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect and were in jail as of yesterday afternoon, Lebanon Police Chief Scott Bowen said.

The teen "was in a very poor condition," Bowen said. James Osborne "said it's been going on for several months. He knew it was wrong."

Bowen said the father gave a statement that "he'd head for work in the morning and the boy would be chained, and he'd come back home from work and the boy would be chained. The mother said he (the boy) was a troublemaker."

Bowen said the teenager has been forced to sleep on a mat on a hardwood floor or directly on the floor surface.

He usually was naked or wore a diaper, he said.

Turner said that based on the preliminary investigation, the boy was fed only soup and water.

Two allegations of minor physical abuse were made against the family in 2001 and 2003, Turner said. DCS case managers visited the family both times and found no evidence to support those allegations, she said.

I realize that some people may call me "mean-spirited", but I hope both parents in this case spend the rest of their lives in prison - and spend a majority of that time being abused by fellow inmates.