Md. parents charged with scalding, binding 7-year-old son with plastic wrap, zip ties

CLARKSBURG, Md. (ABC7) — A father and step-mother in Clarksburg have been charged with first-degree child abuse after their 7-year-old son told hospital workers and police that he had been scalded with hot water and had been regularly restrained with plastic wrap around his body, held in place with belts or zip ties.

According to charging documents, the boy was taken to Shady Grove Hospital on December 2 with a possible seizure and multiple abrasions, blisters, and bruises over his body and head.

Craig Anthoney Williams, 42, and Nicole Williams, 39, both of Clarksburg, were charged with child abuse. They were given high bonds of $300,000 and $400,000, but a judge lowered that to $10,000 each and they have been released.

Five other children, ages 1, 4, 6, 12, and 17, live in the home with the parents. Some of the children told police that they had been hit by both their father and mother with a belt.

The boy told the investigating officer that he is often bound all day in his room and sometimes not allowed to eat. He said that on Thanksgiving Day, he was restrained in plastic wrap all day and only released to come to the dinner table.

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