Inset, left to right: David Gonzalez and Anita Valdez (Bexar County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Bexar County Sheriff’s Office (KENS).
A 30-year-old man and his 31-year-old wife in Texas have been arrested for allegedly handcuffing their children to their beds, beating them with belts, and forcing them to eat hot chili peppers as punishment, among other accusations.
David Gonzalez and Anita Valdez were taken into custody last week and charged with unlawful restraint of a child under age 17 and injury to a child, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Officers with the San Antonio Police Department on Monday, Sept. 1, responded to a home in the 1100 block of Tecumseh Drive after receiving a call reporting possible child abuse, local Fox affiliate KABB reported, citing to a probable cause affidavit. The call came from the mother of Gonzalez’s 7-year-old daughter, who said the child had just returned home from spending the weekend at her father’s house and revealed that Gonzalez and Valdez, the victim’s stepmother, had intentionally handcuffed both of her hands to the bed.
The victim, whose wrists were visibly red, reportedly said that she was left handcuffed for the entire evening, sleeping with the restraint on until the following morning, when one of Valdez’s young children let her out.
The victim’s mother reportedly called Gonzalez to confront him about their daughter’s injuries. During the call, Gonzalez allegedly admitted that he cuffed the girl, but when asked to explain why he did it, the mother reportedly said he became angry and hung up.
After receiving the report, officers went to the couple’s home to question them and both initially denied ever handcuffing Gonzalez’s 7-year-old. However, Valdez later admitted that she handcuffed her own 6-year-old nearly every night, saying that the child had “mental health and behavioral issues,” local CBS affiliate KENS reported.
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Inside the home, authorities reportedly said they recovered two sets of handcuffs attached to one child’s bed while the other child’s bed had one set of handcuffs and one “ratchet strap” attached to it.
During their interviews with police, Gonzalez and Valdez reportedly provided contradictory stories, with Gonzalez claiming all of the children were sleeping by the time he got home and went to bed at 7 p.m. and that he knew nothing about any handcuffing. However, Valdez said she got home at 9 p.m. and Gonzalez was still awake.
Gonzalez’s daughter reportedly told investigators Valdez handcuffed her to the bed, making the restraints very tight around her wrists, per KENS. Valdez’s two children also confirmed that their mother was the one who cuffed them “all the time,” allegedly telling them it was “for their safety.”
But Valdez’s 6-year-old daughter also reportedly claimed she had been cuffed by Gonzalez numerous times, most recently when she was caught eating in the bathroom. This reportedly led investigators to discovering that Gonzalez and Valdez only permitted the kids to eat one meal per day.
Among other allegations, the children reportedly claimed that Gonzalez would punish them by forcing them to pick and eat hot chili peppers from an outdoor bush. They also alleged that Gonzalez would whip them with a belt and make them eat gummy candy that “tasted nasty” but made them “sleepy.”
Gonzalez and Valdez were both released from Bexar County Jail after posting bond of $10,000. They are scheduled to appear in court again on Dec. 1, records show.
