DURATION: 2:00
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SHOTLIST:
AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - FEB. 7, 2013
VOICE-OVER SCRIPT:
A JUDGE HAS RULED THAT A TEENAGER FOUND HANDCUFFED TO A STEEL POLE IN THE BASEMENT OF THIS MISSOURI HOME WILL REMAIN WITH A FOSTER FAMILY...AT LEAST FOR THE TIME BEING.
CRYSTAL ANDERSON ALERTED AUTHORITIES WHEN SHE SUSPECTED THE SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD WAS BEING ABUSED. SHE LIVES NEXT DOOR IN AN APARTMENT ALMOST IDENTICAL TO THE ONE WHERE THE BOY WAS FOUND.
SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Crystal Anderson / Neighbor who called authorities
"Well I seen him about two weeks ago, when he was handcuffed onto the door so it took about two weeks for me to actually, but I heard a lot of fighting in those two weeks, yeah there is probably something going on over there."
WHEN POLICE ARRIVED, THEY FOUND THE TEEN CURLED UP IN THE FETAL POSITION WEARING DIRTY CLOTHES, AND SHIVERING ON A CONCRETE FLOOR, SIMILAR TO THIS ONE.
SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Crystal Anderson / Neighbor who called authorities
"Whenever I called, they were here within an hour, like to check on him and that surprise me actually because I heard people, it would like be days, but they were here within an hour and they went in the house and then within 30 minutes there was an ambulance, I was like, there was something going on."
THE BOY TOLD INVESTIGATORS HE HAD BEEN HANDCUFFED SINCE LAST SEPTEMBER. BUT WHEN HE TRIED TO ESCAPE IN NOVEMBER, HE SAID HE WAS HANDCUFFED TO A STEEL POLE LIKE THE ONE IN ANDERSON'S APARTMENT.
ANDERSON SAYS SHE REMEMBERS SEEING HIM PLAYING WHEN SHE MOVED TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD LAST AUGUST.
SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Crystal Anderson / Neighbor who called authorities
"I became friends with his older brother that lives there and he would come over, he would hang out with me and the neighbors and we would ask him about him and first he told us he moved, and then after that he was like he's grounded, he is pretty much on house arrest because he attacks his mom, his stepmom and I thought it was kind of weird, but I always heard fighting so I figured maybe its trur, that he did, did attack her."
A COURT OFFICIAL SAYS, SINCE BEING RESCUED, THE BOY HAS ENROLLED IN SCHOOL AND IS EXPECTED TO START ATTENDING CLASSES NEXT WEEK.
TIM MCGUIRE/Associated Press
