Teen held captive in room for over a year with little food, no bathroom, report says
A teenager told North Las Vegas police that she was held captive in her bedroom for a year, according to an arrest report released this week.
The teen’s mother, Addy Gonzales, grandmother Maria Pasarin and a man living in the house named Daniel Omezcua were arrested on Nov. 5 after the 18-year-old was found in a neighbor’s yard drinking water from a hose, according to the report from the North Las Vegas Police Department.
The Clark County School District said Friday that Gonzales is employed by the district as a family learning advocate. She has been an employee since 2005 and is currently on unpaid leave per a negotiated agreement with her bargaining unit.
The young woman told neighbors and police that her mother fed her once a day and locked her in the bedroom, forcing her to live there without access to a bathroom.
Police spoke to the woman through her upstairs bedroom window around 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 4. Her name and the house’s address were redacted in the report.
“(The woman) told me she does not have any food or water in the room she was currently in,” a detective wrote in the report. “(She) further advised she only gets food and water at night, when her mother, later identified as Addy Gonzales, returns home at night.”
The bedroom had one sheet, police said, and two empty dressers. The young woman told police she felt like a prisoner.
Police said she had been locked in the room for at least a year and turned 18 last month.
Child Protective Services told detectives that eight prior reports of abuse and neglect were found to be unsubstantiated because the agency did not have enough evidence.
The three suspects are facing charges of false imprisonment and child abuse. They were released on Tuesday after an arraignment and are scheduled to appear in court again Monday.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.
