A Washington County couple faces criminal mistreatment charges following reports that a child had been held captive in chains in their home, sheriff’s officials said Thursday.
The child was chained to an object for more than 12 hours a day, apparently as a punishment for taking food and drinks from the home’s kitchen, sheriff’s officials said in a statement. They declined to release the age or gender of the child.
The abuse included being hit, kicked, strangled and called slurs and lasted for nearly a year, authorities allege in a statement.
Ana M. Miranda, 67, and Charles “Randy” Ward, 74, were arrested April 27, booking records show, after a raid of their home in unincorporated Tigard, where the husband and wife were living with nine children and two young adults, according to the sheriff’s office.
Miranda is suspected of abusing other children over the years, the sheriff’s statement said, while the indictment charges her with mistreatment as far back as July 2019.
Washington County sheriff’s Sgt. Danny DiPietro said none of the children in the home were placed there by the foster care system but declined to release further details, citing privacy concerns.
“Everyone within that home, especially the kids, are (now) in a safe place with responsible adults,” DiPietro said. “We’re working with the children and adults in that home, talking to them, to determine if there have been any other crimes over the years.”
Miranda is charged with eight counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment, plus one count of strangulation against a child, according to the indictment.
She is also charged with second-degree assault with a pair of metal pliers and unlawful use of a weapon involving a second person who was a child at the time of the allegations, according to DiPietro.
Miranda remains in custody and must post 10% of her bail, $2,500, to be released, records show.
Ward is charged with four counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment and must also post 10% of his bail, $1,500, to be released from the county jail.
DiPietro said detectives are still investigating possible earlier instances of mistreatment and asked anyone with information to contact authorities.
— Zane Sparling; zsparling@oregonian.com; 503-319-7083; @pdxzane
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