WASHINGTON — A 7-year old boy in Montgomery County, Maryland, told officials his dad and stepmom restrained him using plastic wrap and zip ties and burned him with hot water. The adults are now facing felony child abuse charges.
Craig and Nicole Williams, of Clarksburg, Maryland, are accused of restraining their 7-year-old child with plastic wrap, attaching him to his bed with zip ties, depriving him of food and scalding his hands with hot water.
The boy had to be airlifted to Shady Grove Medical Center in December with serious injuries, including cuts, bruises and blisters on his head and body. The boy also had severe muscle injuries.
The victim’s father admitted to wrapping the boy in plastic wrap from his shoulders to his knees at bedtime, according to charging documents. The father said he did this over a 30-day period in the house, but later told a nurse at Shady Grove Medical Center that it occurred over a seven-month time period.
The father said after leaving the boy constrained overnight, he sometimes found fecal matter and urine on the boy in the morning.
The child told investigators that he had been constrained in plastic wrap for long periods of time and in some cases almost the entire day. The day before Thanksgiving, the boy says he was wrapped up for almost the entire day, and on Thanksgiving, he was constrained until it was time to go to dinner, according to charging documents.
Also, the boy told a nurse that he got blisters on his hands after they were stuck in hot water, the documents report.
The child told investigators the abuse is so bad that he sometimes does not want to live, according to charging documents.
The 7-year-old wasn’t the only child in the house. Five other siblings lived in the house with the Williams ranging between 1 year old and 17 years old.
Craig and Nicole Williams are free on bond as they await trial. A scheduling hearing for both is set for Feb. 12 in Montgomery County Circuit Court.
David Driscoll, Craig Williams’ lawyer, tells NBC4 that information that has been made public is not the complete story.
Indictment of Craig Williams and Nicole Williams
WTOP’s Nick Iannelli and Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
