Argentine accused of locking wife, autistic son in cage for at least 2 years

Sept. 5, 2015: An Argentine flag hangs from the home where Eduardo Oviedo is accused of keeping his wife and autistic son locked up in Mar del Plata, Argentina. (Mauro V. Rizzi/La Nacion via AP)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – An Argentine man kept his troubled wife and autistic son in a filthy cage by day for at least two years, a prosecutor said Saturday.

Prosecutor Alejandro Pellegrini said police found the dirt-floor cell at the house of 66-year-old Eduardo Oviedo in the city of Mar del Plata, acting on a complaint by two of his other children.

Pellegrini said Oviedo's 61-year-old wife has psychiatric problems and the 32-year-old is autistic.

He described the cell as a cage with bars and an iron door that was locked from the outside. Old mattresses, rubble and bricks, as well as pet food, were found inside.

"The house also had a room in the worst of human conditions where the woman and son spent the hours of the night," locked up as well, he said.

Oviedo was arrested Friday and brought before a judge on Saturday. He declined to make a statement. Pellegrini said he would undergo psychiatric evaluation.

Pellegrini said that several other children lived nearby but did not denounce the situation for fear of their father.