NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (KLAS) — Video 8 News Now obtained shows a teenager escaping from a home after police said she was locked in a bedroom with little food and just a bucket to urinate and defecate in for more than a year.
The 8 News Now Investigators first reported on Tuesday that three adults were accused of locking the 18-year-old girl in the room.
Addy Gonzales, who police identified as the teenager’s mother; Maria Pasarin, who police identified as the teenager’s grandmother; and Daniel Omezcua, each face charges of child abuse and false imprisonment.
Police said they were called to a home near Alexander Road and Fifth Street on Nov. 4 for a report of a teenager who was “trying to use a ladder to climb” back into her home. The girl had gone into the neighbor’s backyard and was asking for food and water, police said. The girl then attempted to climb back into her room.
8 News Now obtained video of her re-entering the second-floor bedroom.
A woman who asked only to be identified as Maria told 8 News Now that she lives next door to the teenager.
“The girl got out and jumped over to our backyard seeking water,” Maria said. “When we saw her she said she had climbed down using sheets but she was heading back up.”
A neighbor told 8 News Now that the teenager was drinking water from her hose before she crawled back over the concrete wall. When the neighbor asked if she needed help she pointed to her ladder in the yard, which would help her climb back up to her bedroom window.
The girl told the neighbor she was able to escape from her room by tying clothes together and climbing out of the second-floor window, police said.
Police arrived, finding the teenager at the window of the second-floor bedroom, officers said.
The teenager said “she was locked in the room where she was currently in,” saying the room “did not have a knob, but only had a deadbolt lock which required a key for both sides to unlock, which she did not have,” officers said.
The girl told police she had escaped to get some water from her neighbor’s spigot. She said she only receives food when her mother, identified as Gonzales, returns home from work.
Gonzales would not let officers into the house initially, saying she would check on her daughter upstairs, police said.
“Overall it’s very heartbreaking because I told her to call the police and she refused, saying no one would believe her,” Maria said.
Inside the room, police said they saw “only a box spring and bed frame.” A black bucket in the room was also “half full of what appeared to be urine and fecal matter,” police said.
Officers booked Gonzales, Omezcua and Pasarin into the North Las Vegas Community Correctional Center. Each was released on their own personal recognizance as prosecutors had not filed a criminal complaint as of Tuesday, records showed.
Gonzales, Omezcua and Pasarin were expected in court again Monday.
The 8 News Now Investigators discovered the Department of Child Protective Services received eight previous reports of allegations of abuse and neglect at the home. However, the agency deemed the reports unsubstantiated, citing a lack of cooperation or evidence.
“That day officers took the teenager from the home and I remember her telling them she was very thirsty as she was being placed inside the patrol unit,” Maria said.
A Clark County spokesperson released a statement to 8 News Now on Thursday:
“This is a tragic event and while Clark County cannot comment on the specifics because of confidentiality and ongoing investigations, we are ensuring that, moving forward, all the support that is needed is available and will be provided.”
Clark County spokesperson
