Boy abused with shock collars, whips ran to safety during a bathroom break, cops say

A father and his girlfriend removed a tortured teen's handcuffs for a bathroom break, police say, and he ran through the woods to safety in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.

Now Thomas Wininger, 40, and Desirae Tomcanin, 34, are behind bars at Calcasieu Correctional Center with charges of second degree cruelty to a juvenile and false imprisonment, according to CBS. They are still awaiting bond after their Tuesday arrest.

Police told Fox59 that Wininger, the boy's father, and Tomcanin would put shock collars and handcuffs on the 15-year-old as punishment. There were burn marks on his ankles from the collar, police say, and his back had belt marks.

Wininger is also accused of hog-tying his teen son, whipping him and putting the shock collar on his ankles for up to 12 hours a day, according to a police report obtained by KATC.

The boy also hadn't attended school in "some time," police told KPLC-TV, as his dad frequently moved for work. Wininger is originally from Georgia.

But the teen was finally able to escape from his father's grasp on Tuesday at around 10 p.m., police told Fox59. The couple took off the boy's handcuffs so he could go to the bathroom, police say, and he ran into the woods and up to a nearby house. The person who lived there called 911.

Police arrived and arrested the pair, according to KATC. The state now has custody of the teen.

This story was originally published July 5, 2018 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Boy abused with shock collars, whips ran to safety during a bathroom break, cops say."