Pennsylvania mom disputes report child was in 'cage'

POTTSVILLE, Pa. (WPVI) -- A Schuylkill County, Pa. mom spoke out after police said her three children, one of them just a day old, were left alone and one of them was locked in a "cage."

Tiffany George spoke to WFMZ-TV after police held a news conference announcing child endangerment charges against their father, Cecil Kutz, on Thursday.
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"We did not have the intentions of locking our children in a cage," George said. "It's a playpen, it's a crib. It's not a cage."

Investigators said a two-year-old boy was found inside the "cage" Wednesday afternoon. A one-year-old was found in a playpen next to it, and the day-old infant was found in a car seat.

Investigators entered the home on Chestnut Street in Schuylkill Haven after George was in the hospital for severe bleeding following birth. They found the children alone.

Investigators said they believe the children were alone for 40 minutes or more.
George said she believed Kutz and the children were following the ambulance to the hospital.



"I think that's what people should be more focused on, not so much this cage thing," she said. "I am very upset he left my children home alone while I was in the hospital."



As for the homemade playpen, George said it was intended to keep her oldest son safe.
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"The whole purpose of it was so that he couldn't get out and hurt himself," George said.

George admitted she has a criminal past, some run-ins with children and youth services, and does not have custody of her two sons, but she said her children are not abused. She even claims children and youth has seen the pen.

"They are the ones that asked us to modify it," George said.



George said the agency had an issue with her son climbing up the lattice.

"So then we built this," George said, showing the top of the structure. "This lid comes off."

But police also had an issue with the temperature inside the home.
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"It is pretty hot in our house. It's well insulated. It was not 90 degrees that day. It's today though," George said.

George said her children are now in foster care. It's not yet clear if she will face any charges.

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