A New Jersey mother has been arrested on child abuse charges after she allegedly forced her child to wear a dog shock collar, according to reports.
Kimberly Cruz-Feliciano, 30, from Cape May, N.J., was arrested along with her mother Sonia Feliciano, 59, after her child arrived at school with “visible marks on their body” on March 17, authorities announced on Friday, March 21, per local news outlet Daily Voice, WPVI and NBC10 Philadelphia.
Investigators determined that the injuries came from an electric dog shock collar that belonged to the family’s dead dog, according to the outlets.
The child was discovered to have worn the collar “at all times in the home,” according to a criminal complaint, per WPVI. The victim told police that the collar “was kept in a bedroom” along with other items belonging to the dog and was “charged regularly” after the dog died, according to court documents obtained by the outlets.
The child was threatened with more violence by the mother if they told anyone about the abuse, the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office said, per WPVI.
The CMCPO Special Victims Unit and Cape May City Police Department carried out a joint investigation on the mother and grandmother leading to the pair’s arrest.
The mother was charged with two second-degree counts of aggravated assault, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, one count of first-degree witness tampering with threat of force, and one count of third-degree hindering, per Daily Voice.
She is currently being held at the Cape May County Correctional Center pending court proceedings, the outlet reported.
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The grandmother was charged with fourth-degree tampering with evidence and hindering. She was released from custody ahead of her court hearing, per Daily Voice.
Authorities were previously called to the suspect’s home before, according to WPVI.
One neighbor told the outlet, “It’s just sad. I hate to hear something like that, I really do. And it’s right here in the neighborhood, and I did not know that.”
PEOPLE has reached out to the CMCPO, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland and Cape May City Police Chief Dekon Fashaw for comment.
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