A mother has been sentenced to spend 16 months to five years in prison after admitting to restraining her 11-year-old son to a fuel tank for 17 hours. Chazzity Candelario faced felony charges of unlawful restraint of a minor, false imprisonment of a minor, and a misdemeanour charge of endangering the welfare of children. She pleaded no contest in November and received her sentence on January 7.
Candelario, who was 33 at the time of the incident, claimed she struggled to manage her children while at work, leading her to resort to shackling her son for extended periods. The incident came to light on January 11, 2025, when law enforcement officers responded to a report of a boy restrained with handcuffs at Candelario’s home in North Lebanon Township, Pennsylvania.
Investigations revealed that the boy had been handcuffed to an oil tank in the basement. In Candelario’s absence, her children informed the authorities about the situation. The boy recounted being confined in the basement initially, managing to free himself but inadvertently getting restrained to a bunk bed railing.
Candelario explained to law enforcement that she found it challenging to manage her son while working, leading her to confine him in a utility room where he was handcuffed to the oil tank. The child disclosed that he was frequently restrained for long periods and sometimes fastened to a post while his mother was away.
This was not Candelario’s first brush with the law, as in 2017, she was arrested on charges related to endangering the welfare of children, marijuana possession, and drug paraphernalia possession concerning her children. The court proceedings saw Candelario declining to speak during her sentencing, with her lawyer expressing her remorse.
Lebanon District Attorney Pier Hess Graf emphasized that a mother’s primary duty is to care for and protect her children, condemning Candelario’s actions as a betrayal of that duty. Judge Charles Jones, during sentencing, admonished Candelario, stating that such actions should never have occurred and urging her to make amends to her children.