US mother 'kept son in cupboard'

LaRhonda McCall has been arrested on suspicion of child abuse

A mother accused of abusing her teenage son frequently kept him tied up and locked in a bedroom cupboard, police in the US state of Oklahoma have said.

The case came to light on Friday when the 14-year-old told police he had escaped from a home where he had spent most of the past four years locked up.

LaRhonda McCall, 37, and Steve Vern Hamilton are in custody accused of 20 counts each of child abuse and neglect.

An Oklahoma City police officer said investigations were continuing.

The police were alerted after the boy walked up to a national security guard base in Oklahoma City and said he wanted to report being abused, Associated Press news agency reported on Monday.

Sgt Gary Knight: 'He had scars over the majority of his body'

"He was hungry. He was dirty. He had numerous scars on his body. It was very sad," police Sgt Gary Knight is quoted as saying.

The teenager was taken to hospital to be examined and is being looked after by the authorities, AP reports.

Sgt Knight said investigators had no reason to doubt the teenager's account that he had spent most of the time locked up since moving to the area with his mother from New Jersey four-and-a-half years ago.

The boy told the police the scars on his torso were a result of being beaten, hit with an extension cord and having alcohol poured on to his body and set alight, AP said.

Both Ms McCall and Mr Hamilton are being held in custody, with bail set at $400,000 (£251,000), the authorities said.