OLD SAYBROOK — A mother who allegedly put her child in a locked dog crate for urinating and defecating in his bedroom defended the move to police, claiming that other behavior-correcting methods failed and toys made the cage “fun.”

According to her arrest warrant affidavit, Kathlyn Anthony made her adopted, elementary-school-age son sleep in the container for one to two weeks and took away his bed because it was too soiled to continue using.

But there have been prior instances of possible abuse by Anthony against the boy, according to state Department of Children and Family records, and this week’s arrest has also prompted an internal investigation of DCF’s actions in those instances.


(If it took this to prompt an investigation I wonder what happened that they didn't investigate?)

Anthony, 54, was arrested Sunday on a charge of risk of injury to a minor and arraigned Monday before being released on $100,000 bail, Sgt. Kevin Roche said Tuesday.

Anthony told police she had hoped to purchase a playpen for her son to sleep in to help his condition, but couldn’t find one big enough, the affidavit reads.

“Katy stated she then got the idea to ‘re-purpose a large pet crate that the kids had played in when we had litters of kittens in there.’ Katy also stated that the crate had ‘good memories for both of the kids and the family,’ ” it continues.

Old Saybrook mom defends locking her son in a dog crate; says toys made cage 'fun,' according to warrant- The New Haven Register - Serving New Haven, Connecticut