Left: Taylor Schaefer. Right: Shawn Stone (Volusia County Sheriff”s Office).
A Florida mother who allowed her boyfriend to “repeatedly beat and torture” her 5-year-old son, handcuff him for nearly a day and put him inside a dog cage is headed to prison for decades.
Taylor Schaefer, 30, pleaded no contest to a slew of charges, including aggravated child abuse, conspiracy to commit child neglect with great bodily harm and failure to report child abuse, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. A judge sentenced her to 60 years behind bars.
The case began in May 2023 when Schaefer had a “gut feeling” that her live-in boyfriend, 35-year-old Shawn M. Stone, was abusing her then 5-year-old son. She checked the home surveillance video, which confirmed her suspicions. Then she called the police.
What police soon learned was that she failed to mention that she was present in the house for much of the abuse and never stopped it or reported it.
“On several occasions the boy was visibly injured and limping in her presence, but received no care or medical attention. Video showed he was not only beaten, but repeatedly left with his hands bound behind his back for hours at a time,” deputies wrote. “The victim was also tied up, placed in a dog cage and often punished via deprivation of food.”
Stone is charged with aggravated child abuse, false imprisonment and neglect of a child causing great bodily harm. His case is ongoing and he remains in the Volusia County Jail without bond. He was arrested on May 9, 2023, after he allegedly beat the boy with a mop handle and also punched and kicked the child before he fled from cops on a four-wheeler.
Cops then collected video from inside the home.
As Law&Crime previously reported, footage showed the boy bound with his hands behind his back for hours at a time in the days leading up to the Stone’s arrest, deputies said.
In another incident, his hands were tied behind his back from 6:43 p.m. through the night and into the next day at 2:02 p.m., authorities claim.
“On another occasion, his legs, feet, arms and torso were bound for at least an hour while Stone stood over him,” deputies said.
There was also footage that showed moments in which Stone yelled and kicked the already bruised and injured boy, according to the sheriff’s office. Schaefer would enter the picture and tell the child to stand up straight. The video also revealed that the sounds of the abuse reverberated throughout the home.
That 5-year-old sustained dozens of injuries, deputies said, with doctors noting that at least 46 of those injuries were visible. The boy also suffered internal injuries, including a fractured skull.
Deputies noted two other victims, including a child who was allegedly forced to ingest scalding hot liquid.
“It was also determined that another child in the home was forced to drink boiling water, sprayed with boiling water, and beaten with several household objects,” law enforcement said. “That child also witnessed the brutal abuse inflicted on the younger victim.”
In addition to watching the younger victim’s abuse, a third child in the residence did not get proper nutrition or care for a serious medical condition, authorities said.
The kids were taken from the residence and placed in what deputies called a “safe environment.”
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood shared a link to a GoFundMe campaign to support the children.
“The torture these kids endured is hard to imagine,” he said. “The good news is they’re in safe hands now, and their scumbag abusers will have to answer for what they did.”
Alberto Luperon contributed to this report
