Inset, left to right: David Gonzalez and Anita Valdez (Bexar County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Bexar County Sheriff’s Office (KENS).
A man aged 30 and his 31-year-old wife in Texas have been taken into custody for allegedly handcuffing their children to beds, beating them with belts, and making them eat hot chili peppers as punishment, along with other accusations.
David Gonzalez and Anita Valdez were arrested last week and charged with unlawful restraint of a child under 17 and injury to a child, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
On Monday, Sept. 1, officers from the San Antonio Police Department responded to a residence in the 1100 block of Tecumseh Drive after a call reported potential child abuse, as local Fox affiliate KABB reported, citing a probable cause affidavit. The report was made by the mother of Gonzalez’s 7-year-old daughter, who stated that the child had just returned from a weekend at her father’s house and disclosed that Gonzalez and Valdez, the child’s stepmother, had purposefully handcuffed her hands to the bed.
The child, with visibly red wrists, reportedly mentioned being left handcuffed the entire night, sleeping restrained until the next morning when one of Valdez’s young children released her.
The girl’s mother reportedly confronted Gonzalez regarding their daughter’s injuries. Gonzalez allegedly admitted to cuffing their daughter during the conversation, but when asked for an explanation, he reportedly became upset and ended the call.
Upon receiving the report, officers went to question the couple, and both initially denied handcuffing Gonzalez’s 7-year-old daughter. However, Valdez later confessed that she regularly handcuffed her own 6-year-old, stating the child had “mental health and behavioral issues,” as reported by local CBS affiliate KENS reported.
Inside the home, authorities reportedly said they recovered two sets of handcuffs attached to one child’s bed while the other child’s bed had one set of handcuffs and one “ratchet strap” attached to it.
During their interviews with police, Gonzalez and Valdez reportedly provided contradictory stories, with Gonzalez claiming all of the children were sleeping by the time he got home and went to bed at 7 p.m. and that he knew nothing about any handcuffing. However, Valdez said she got home at 9 p.m. and Gonzalez was still awake.
Gonzalez’s daughter reportedly told investigators Valdez handcuffed her to the bed, making the restraints very tight around her wrists, per KENS. Valdez’s two children also confirmed that their mother was the one who cuffed them “all the time,” allegedly telling them it was “for their safety.”
But Valdez’s 6-year-old daughter also reportedly claimed she had been cuffed by Gonzalez numerous times, most recently when she was caught eating in the bathroom. This reportedly led investigators to discovering that Gonzalez and Valdez only permitted the kids to eat one meal per day.
Among other allegations, the children reportedly claimed that Gonzalez would punish them by forcing them to pick and eat hot chili peppers from an outdoor bush. They also alleged that Gonzalez would whip them with a belt and make them eat gummy candy that “tasted nasty” but made them “sleepy.”
Gonzalez and Valdez were both released from Bexar County Jail after posting bond of $10,000. They are scheduled to appear in court again on Dec. 1, records show.
