A North Carolina mother allegedly justified her decision to tie up her 4-year-old son and place him in the closet as “punishment.”
Tiffany Rivera, 30, is accused of endangering her young son while the two were staying at the Suburban Extended Stay hotel in Charlotte. According to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime, the alleged abuse was first reported to Charlotte police on August 7 after her son was treated at Onslow Memorial Hospital, where staff noticed injuries to the boy’s neck, wrists, and ankles.
Social workers told detectives that Rivera told them that “she would tie the victim’s wrists and ankles together then put him inside a closet for punishment.”
“Tiffany advised the social workers that she would do this because the victim would eat all of her food, drink whatever he wanted, and poop/pee on himself,” according to the witness statement.
According to the affidavit, investigators found both new and old injuries on the child. The boy required several days of hospitalization.
According to law enforcement, a witness told them that after seeing the boy’s injuries on July 30, he asked Rivera about them.
“[S]he responded with ‘I do whatever I want to my child,'” the affidavit read. That witness also told investigators that the boy appeared afraid to speak with Rivera, and that despite being fully potty-trained, “the victim recently started urinating on himself.”
Rivera lives in Jacksonville, Onslow County, approximately 250 miles east of Charlotte. According to court records, Rivera posted a $5,000 bond and was released from custody on September 10. She has a court date in Charlotte on October 1.
