Angie Harlan (Allen County Sheriff’s Office).
An Indiana woman received her sentencing this week for concealing her son in her residence after he escaped from his foster care situation. Authorities revealed that she confined him to a closet and compelled him to use a Pringles can as a makeshift toilet to avoid detection.
According to court documents acquired by local news outlet WPTA, Angie Harlan, 45, fiercely defended her actions when confronted at her home by police officers and child services agents. “That’s my f—ing kid,” she insisted, further declaring, “Nobody’s taking my f—ing kid,” while allegedly threatening harm to the boy.
On Monday, Harlan was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in Allen County Community Corrections Residential Services. This decision came after she accepted a plea deal, which led to her pleading guilty to felony intimidation and misdemeanor false informing. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the initial charges of neglect, confinement, and additional false informing.
The incident unfolded in August when Harlan was accused of administering pills to her son, misleading him to believe they were Tylenol. However, her son, whose age remains undisclosed, reportedly told officers, “It wasn’t Tylenol. I know what Tylenol is,” as reported by WPTA.
The boy had been residing with a foster family when he was reported missing on August 17. Despite being questioned by authorities following the report, Harlan initially denied any knowledge of her son’s whereabouts.
The boy had been living with a foster family who reported him missing on Aug. 17. Harlan was questioned by authorities after the report was made, but denied seeing him or knowing anything about his whereabouts.
DCS received a tip that the child was at Harlan’s home after she was interviewed, which prompted police to return and search the residence. Her son was found under a bed in a second-story bedroom, WPTA reports.
Agents asked the boy what had happened, and he accused Harlan of locking him away in a closet after he ran away from his foster family. He went to a random person’s home first. An individual at the residence allowed him to use their phone to call Harlan to tell her what happened, according to police.
Harlan allegedly went to the home, retrieved her son, returned to her house and told him to get in the closet, which had a keyed padlock. Investigators said she gave the boy a Pringles can and told him to use the bathroom in it.
The youth accused Harlan of giving him pills that made him feel drunk because he couldn’t fall asleep. While searching the home, authorities found two prescription pill bottles that the boy said were given to him. The pills were Pregabalin 75 mg — a painkiller — and Hydroxyz HCL 25 mg, an antihistamine that can also be used as a sedative. The medication had been prescribed to Harlan and her son said he “passed out” after taking them.
When police first came to Harlan’s home, she allegedly ordered her child to get under the bed to avoid being seen. She also took him to a park on one occasion and made him hide in a bush, police said.
The Allen County Community Corrections Residential Services facility, where Harlan will be serving her sentence, operates a community-based supervision program, according to officials. It is described online as an “alternative to incarceration for moderate to high-risk post-conviction felony individuals.”
