Father Handcuffed And Used Shock Collars On Teenage Son, Police Say

A couple in Louisiana have been arrested and jailed this week for abusing a teenage boy.

Thomas D. Wininger, 40, of Sylvester, Georgia, allegedly handcuffed, hogtied and placed shock collars on the ankles of his 15-year-old son for up to 12 hours a day as a form of punishment, officials at the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

Deputies responded to a home in Sulphur, Louisiana, at around 10 p.m. on Tuesday where the boy managed to seek help. He slipped away while in handcuffs after being let loose for a bathroom break, Sheriff's Office spokesperson Kim Myers said, according to WTXL.

After the boy ran through the woods, he eventually found another house where the resident alerted authorities. The teen sustained facial injuries, belt marks across his back and burn marks on his ankles, possibly from the shock collars.

Police also arrested Wininger’s girlfriend 34-year-old, Desirae Tomcanin of Pennsylvania. The teen traveled with the couple for Wininger from state to state to find work. The boy had been out of school for "some time,” according to investigators.

Wininger and Tomcanin were booked into the Calcasieu Correctional Center on counts of second-degree cruelty to a juvenile and false imprisonment. Bond has not yet been set. Meanwhile, the teen has been placed in protective custody.