BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Buffalo woman is accused of child endangerment for allegedly putting a toddler in a makeshift cage.
NYS Police based out of Clarence arrested Naesha R. Lumpkin, 24, of Buffalo and charged her with Child Endangerment back in February.
Troopers were executing a warrant on a residence on Chadduck Avenue in Buffalo on Feb. 8 for an unrelated crime and discovered a 2-year-old boy was found in makeshift cage in a separate bedroom. Investigators say that the makeshift cage was created out of a playpen that was covered by a piece of crib that was tied down, not allowing the child to stand or get out of the playpen.
Troopers shared that the child and the cage were covered in human feces, as were the walls. They say that the child and the bedding were also soaked in urine and feces.
Child protective services were called, and the child was taken to Oishei Children's Hospital.
Lumpkin was charged on the arrest warrant and on a new charge of child endangerment. She was issued an appearance ticket for Buffalo City Court.
While at the hospital, medical staff reported that the child had bruising on his face and body and had two fractured ribs that were in the healing stage. They believe the fractures happened 10 days to two weeks prior to being discovered.
Troopers say that while interviewing Lumpkin, she allegedly stated that the toddler fell down the stairs in late December of 2023, and early January of 2024. She said she did not seek medical assistance at the time.
The New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation were assisted by the Erie County District Attorney's office in the investigation and say no additional charges will be filed at this time.
"Human feces inside and outside the adjacent wall of that caged area, there was remains of food inside there, bones from chicken, chicken wing bones or some sort of chicken bones, so I mean, it was something where you look at it and it was disgusting. It was something that no, no one would want to see," said New York State Trooper James O'Callaghan, PIO Troop A.
"There were some excuses as to why the child was in that cage like that. None of them were good reasons, and let's be honest with you, anyone that has kids or anyone that has seen this picture know that there is no reason for a child to be not only living like that, but as a parent, to put a child in that type of situation."
State Police explained why the news about this is just coming out now.
"This arrest was made in February. Here we are in May. The thing is, we were continuing to investigate to see if there was possible additional charges to the injuries of the child where now we have closed that investigation and we've determined that we aren't going to move forward with the Erie County District Attorney's Office with additional charges due to the investigation that we went forward with," O'Callaghan said.
It's not clear whether the child is currently in Lumpkin's custody. 2 On Your Side is trying to find out through CPS.
And, the child endangerment case is still making its way though Buffalo City Court. It's scheduled for June 13. Lumpkin has not entered a plea yet.
Click here for the NYS Troopers full report.