Children Locked In Room, Told To Urinate On Dog Pad, Says Sheriff

SAN ANTONIO, FL -- A San Antonio man is facing child abuse charges after reportedly locking children in a bedroom and not allowing them to come out to use the bathroom.

Pasco County Sheriff's deputies were called to a home on Fussell Drive in San Antonio on Thursday, Jan. 3, after receiving a report of child abuse.

Deputies say Matthew Haywood, 49, is the children's great-uncle. He became angry at one of the three children and locked them all in a bedroom.

The children's grandmother said Haywood had a violent temper so she was afraid to let the children out. He told her there would be "consequences" if anyone left the room. When one of the children asked to use the bathroom, the grandmother told the child to urinate on a dog-training pad.

Deputies felt the home was an unsafe and unsanitary environment for the children and called in protective services.

Haywood was arrested on child abuse charges and is being held in the Land O' Lakes Detention Center on a $5,000 bond.

Image via Pasco Sheriff

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