PALM SPRINGS, Fla. - A child came forward to investigators saying he was handcuffed to a dog cage for 12 hours as punishment with no access to food or the restroom, according to a Palm Springs Police report.
Months after the investigation began, Robert Dersa II was arrested and is facing child abuse and aggravated battery charges. His wife, Casey Dersa was more recently arrested and also faces child abuse charges.
The child said he was handcuffed as punishment for not asking for permission before going into the refrigerator, according to recently released court documents. Police said the pair used handcuffs and a dog crate to punish the 12-year-old.
"We believe there is credible evidence that the victim was in fact either put into it or connected or handcuff to it," said Edgar Morley, with the Palm Springs Police Department.
A Palm Springs police officer and the Florida Department of Children and Families began looking into the case in October when the allegations are said to have occurred.
The child said he was not allowed in the refrigerator without asking permission first. The officer also reported the child saying he was hit with a “vacuum stick” and punched during the ordeal.
"The child alleges that he was struck, he was grabbed, he was restrained in his cage--in it or to it," said Morley. "He wasn't allowed to eat or go to the bathroom, wasn't allowed to go into the refrigerator, and this last incident was caused because he went into the refrigerator."
A detective met with the boy's father.
Dersa allegedly said the cage is for two large iguanas but he could not find pictures of the iguanas when the detective questioned him. Police also said he claimed it was for role playing with his wife.
WPTV NewsChannel 5 spoke to Robert Dersa II on the phone. He said for seven years he has tried to help his son deal with a litany of mental health issues including reactive detachment disorder, in which a child doesn't bond with his mother. Dersa also said his son is bipolar with schizophrenic tendencies. When asked if he handcuffed the boy in the cage, his father said, "No, never." He went on to say, "The cage with the handcuffs, that cage with handcuffs is something for me, and the wife that we like to role play."
Dersa denied putting the child in the dog crate but said the boy “has been nothing but a problem,” the detective wrote in the report.
"When he is stable, he's a wonderful little boy, but when he's not mentally all there, everything goes down the crapper," Dersa said.
During a visit to the home, an officer documented a large dog crate in a bedroom with two sets of handcuff on the front of it.
Positive findings for psychological abuse and neglect were found in the report. Investigators believe the child has a history of being locked up in the cage handcuffed.
A spokesperson for the Palm Springs Police Department said the child has been placed in DCF care. DCF said the boy is in licensed foster care now and their investigation is closed. Meantime, the police investigation is still active.
"People are sensationalizing things, and they don't know the whole story, and it's, 'ya know ruining my life, making me sound like a monster," said Dersa.