Police and prosecutors say the children were denied routine medical and dental care.
ETTERS, Pa. — A Pennsylvania mother, grandmother and uncle have been charged after investigators say two children were kept inside a York County home for about two years, restrained for long stretches and left without routine medical and dental care, authorities announced Feb. 25.
Prosecutors said the case centers on what investigators described as a pattern of confinement and neglect that harmed nearly every part of the children’s daily lives. The children were removed from the home in March 2024 and have remained out of the household during a lengthy investigation that included medical records, photographs and an outside expert review, authorities said. The defendants are jailed at York County Prison on $250,000 bail each, and the criminal case is expected to move next through preliminary court proceedings.
Newberry Township police filed the charges against Ashley Cardona, 31, the children’s mother; Lori Cardona, 53, the children’s grandmother; and Michael Cardona, 29, the children’s uncle. Charging documents describe a 6-year-old boy who was confined in a modified crib investigators called “cage-like,” and a 5-year-old girl who was buckled into an infant car seat for much of the day. York County District Attorney Tim Barker said at a news briefing that the allegations were “extremely serious,” describing evidence that both children were restrained inside the home for prolonged periods. Acting Police Chief Lt. Braxton Ditty said investigators believed the conditions were far beyond what any child should face.
The investigation, authorities said, came to police attention on March 19, 2024, after medical staff at WellSpan York Hospital contacted Newberry Township police about two children who had been taken into emergency protective custody. The call, according to investigators, included reports that the boy was malnourished and had been living in a crate or cage “24 hours a day,” while the girl had been made to sit in a car seat for about 20 hours a day. Three days later, on March 22, 2024, detectives executed a search warrant at a home on Cassel Road in the Etters area of York County. Inside the living room, police said they found a crib that had been altered into a structure with external locking mechanisms. The crib was later measured at about 51 inches long, 31 inches wide and 60 inches tall, according to the charging documents.
Police said the modified crib smelled strongly of urine and had a substance suspected to be fecal matter caked on a railing. Prosecutors said the structure had been made using stacked cribs along with items such as ratchet straps, zip ties and locks. Barker said one child was also restrained with a wrist device attached to a leash. Investigators said a second restrictive enclosure was found in a bedroom, described in records as a playpen that could be zipped from the outside. Michael Cardona told officers he helped construct the modified crib by stacking a second crib upside down on top of a lower crib, the charging documents said. Authorities have not publicly detailed how often each adult was present during the alleged restraints, but police and prosecutors said the alleged conduct unfolded within the shared household.
Authorities said concerns about basic hygiene and health care were a core part of the investigation. Police wrote that they searched the bathroom for supplies after receiving reports that the children’s dental care had been neglected. Investigators said they found only a single bottle of mouthwash and did not see toothbrushes or toothpaste. In a separate account of the case, Barker said the children’s teeth showed extensive decay and required significant reconstruction. The children also had developmental delays and were not potty-trained when they were removed from the home, Barker said. Officials said the alleged neglect was not limited to dentistry. Charging documents state the children had not received routine medical or dental care since 2019, a gap that investigators said became clearer as records were collected and reviewed.
Before the hospital call, York County Children and Youth Services had made multiple visits to the home beginning Feb. 24, 2024, authorities said. During those visits, staff repeatedly saw the children confined in restraints for extended periods, police wrote. Investigators said the home was unclean and smelled strongly of smoke, and they described situations where the children were found restrained while caregivers were asleep or while adults were absent. Police said food was sometimes passed to the boy through crib slats. Authorities also said the children had reportedly not left the home in about two years, an allegation that has become central to the criminal filings. Prosecutors said the confinement, combined with the medical and dental neglect, formed the basis for describing the allegations as torture-like.
Hospital records cited by investigators described physical and developmental impacts that officials said were consistent with prolonged restraint. Police said the girl had limited mobility, a limited range of motion in her neck, injuries on her body and developmental delays. Medical providers attributed musculoskeletal findings to extended time restrained in a car seat, according to the charging documents. Authorities said both children showed rapid improvement after they were removed from the home, a point investigators cited as they traced how confinement and neglect may have affected growth, movement and everyday functioning. Officials did not provide detailed measurements of weight gain or specific developmental milestones in public remarks, but they said the children’s progress after removal was noticeable to caregivers and professionals.
Investigators described a long timeline between removal and arrests, emphasizing the scope of the medical review and the need for expert input. Police said they were informed on July 9, 2025, that the children had been placed together with a family in York. Detectives continued to collect and examine health records between July and November 2025, police said, and those records were provided along with photos and other documentation for expert review on Oct. 17, 2025, at Penn State Health’s Children’s Hospital Center for Protection of Children. Prosecutors said a doctor involved in the assessment concluded the alleged conduct met criteria used by child-protection specialists to describe child torture, which authorities characterized as a sustained pattern of abuse combined with multiple forms of psychological maltreatment.
The criminal charges announced Feb. 25 include multiple felony counts tied to assault allegations, unlawful restraint and false imprisonment, according to prosecutors and court filings described in news briefings. Ashley Cardona and Lori Cardona each face aggravated assault and child endangerment counts among other charges, authorities said. Michael Cardona faces charges that include conspiracy-related counts tied to unlawful restraint and false imprisonment, prosecutors said. All three remained jailed in lieu of $250,000 bail, police said. Court dates for preliminary hearings were not announced in the initial public briefings, and the district attorney’s office has not detailed whether additional defendants could be investigated or whether further charges are possible as the case moves through court.
Neighbors and local residents described shock as the details became public, and officials said the allegations were difficult even for experienced investigators to read. Barker said the evidence included conditions that, in his view, showed planning and persistence rather than a one-time event. Ditty said the children were removed early in the investigation and placed into a safer living situation. In a public statement posted by the police department after the arrests, officials said the children were taken from the home at the start of the law enforcement investigation and have remained in healthy alternative living arrangements. Authorities have not released the children’s names and have limited identifying details to protect their privacy.
The case now shifts from investigation to prosecution, with the defendants expected to face early hearings that will determine how the charges proceed toward trial. Prosecutors have indicated they will rely heavily on medical records, documentation from child welfare visits and expert testimony about the effects of prolonged confinement and neglect. The next major milestone will be the first round of court proceedings in York County, where a judge will consider whether the evidence supports holding the felony charges for trial.
Author note: Last updated March 2, 2026.
Featured image prompt (1200×630): A quiet rural Pennsylvania roadside in winter near a modest single-family home, with a police vehicle parked at the curb and yellow evidence markers near a front walkway; foreground shows a close-up of a worn child car seat and a dismantled wooden crib frame placed gently on a tarp, photographed in a neutral, documentary news style, no logos, no identifiable faces.