Rogers County Man Arrested For Locking 4-Year-Old In Dog Cage

Rogers County Deputies arrested a Chelsea man accused of abusing his stepchildren. The Department of Human Services said it found Johnathon Lee's four-year-old stepson locked in a wire dog cage.

DHS removed three kids from the home, and now both the stepfather and the mother are in jail.

An affidavit said Johnathon Lee, 31, admitted putting the boy in the cage to sleep overnight, during nap time and for discipline, for at least three weeks.

Court records show Lee admitted to investigators that he put the boy in the cage to protect him. Lee said the boy would get up at night and there were exposed wires in the bedroom, and they didn't want him touching an exposed wire.

Between sleep time, nap time and discipline, investigators say the boy spent up to 14 hours in a day inside the cage.

Rogers County Sheriff, Scott Walton, said, "14 hours is a very, very long period of time. In this situation, 30 minutes is too long. We don't keep kids in cages."

At one point, the boy learned how to kick the door open and break the lock. That's when the parents started using a padlock. Investigators said Lee admitted using handcuffs and wire ties in addition to a padlock to keep the cage locked with the boy inside.

"I personally have a five-year-old grandson, and I can't imagine him being put into a cage like this for any period of time," Walton said.

During the investigation, deputies say Lee was accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl. And after interviewing him and the girl, prosecutors charged him with child abuse for the cage, and sexual abuse of a child for the other.

Deputies say the children in the home describe an atmosphere of fear and bad conditions, which is why DHS took the three kids, ages 4, 7 and 14, into protective custody.

Deputies arrested the mother, Suzanne Satterfield, 33, Tuesday afternoon for child abuse and permitting child abuse.

Johnathon Lee remains in the Rogers County jail on a $50,000 bond.