Mom Who Let Boyfriend Handcuff 5-Year-Old for 19 Hours and Lock Him in Dog Cage Learns Her Fate

A 30-year-old Florida woman, Taylor Schaefer, has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for allowing her boyfriend to beat and torture her 5-year-old son, authorities said.

According to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, Schaefer pleaded no contest for aggravated child abuse, conspiracy to commit child neglect with great bodily harm and failure to report child abuse.

Authorities first learned about the abuse in May 2023, when Schaefer called 911 and said she had a ‘gut feeling’ that her live-in boyfriend, Shawn M. Stone, was abusing her son.

Deputies arrested Stone on May 9, 2023, after surveillance video showed him beating the child with a mop handle and punching and kicking him.

Investigators later said Schaefer knew about the abuse. Surveillance video showed Schaefer inside the home while the 5-year-old was being beaten.

According to Law&Crime, authorities said, "On the day that Schaefer did report the abuse, video showed her mopping up the area where the victim was beaten with the mop handle."

“The investigation revealed multiple recordings of the victim receiving beatings while Schaefer was present in the house, as well as several instances where he was visibly injured and limping in her presence, but received no care or medical attention," authorities said.

Deputies said Schaefer was later taken into custody.

Stone has been charged with aggravated child abuse, false imprisonment and neglect of a child causing great bodily harm. His case remains ongoing in the Volusia County Jail without bond.

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office described the abuse in a Facebook post detailing the victim’s ordeal.

Deputies said surveillance video showed “the boy bound with his hands behind his back for hours at a time in the days leading up to the incident.”

“In another incident, his hands were tied behind his back from 6:43 p.m. through the night and into the next day at 2:02 p.m.,” deputies said.

In another incident, the child’s “legs, feet, arms and torso were bound for at least an hour while Stone stood over him,” deputies said.

Footage also showed moments in which Stone yelled and kicked the already bruised and injured boy, according to the sheriff's office.

According to authorities, Schaefer sometimes entered the room and told the child to stand up straight. Video also reportedly captured sounds of the abuse throughout the home.

Deputies said the 5-year-old sustained dozens of injuries, and doctors documented at least 46 visible wounds. They boy also suffered internal injuries, including a fractured skull.

"It was discovered that in addition to the abuse recorded on video, the victim was tied up and placed in a dog cage and often punished via deprivation of food," deputies said.

Deputies said another child in the home was forced to drink boiling water. Authorities also said the child was sprayed with boiling water and beaten with several household objects.

"That child also witnessed the brutal abuse inflicted on the younger victim," authorities said.

Authorities said a third child in the residence did not get proper nutrition or care for a serious medical condition.

The children were later removed from the home and placed in what deputies described as a "safe environment."