Three adults from the same family in Pennsylvania face charges for subjecting three children to severe abuse over several years, including confinement in a makeshift cage and a car seat for extended periods. Authorities discovered the conditions during an investigation that began in March 2024. The children, aged 5, 6, and 10, suffered physical and developmental harm, with one physician classifying the case as child torture.
In Newberry Township, York County, Pennsylvania, Ashley Cardona, 31, her mother Lori Cardona, 53, and brother Michael Cardona, 29, have been arrested on multiple charges related to the mistreatment of three children. Ashley faces five counts of aggravated assault, eight counts of false imprisonment and unlawful restraint, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and ten counts of criminal conspiracy. Lori is charged with various counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, unlawful restraint, endangering child welfare, and conspiracy. Michael faces charges of false imprisonment, unlawful restraint, endangering child welfare, and conspiracy.
The investigation started on March 19, 2024, following a report from York Hospital about two children, a 6-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl, who were malnourished and had been confined—the boy in a crate for 24 hours a day and the girl in a car seat for about 20 hours daily. Police executed a search warrant on March 22, 2024, at a home on Cassel Road, where they found a modified crib in the living room turned into a cage-like structure measuring 51 inches long, 31 inches wide, and 60 inches high. The cage had external locks, urine-soaked carpet, and feces-covered rails. York County District Attorney Tim Barker described it as a "homemade caged crib constructed with stacked cribs, ratchet straps, zip ties, locking mechanisms and also (the child) was restrained with a wrist device connected to a leash." Michael Cardona admitted to building it by stacking cribs.
In Ashley's bedroom, officers found a playpen that could be zipped shut from outside. Child welfare workers reported that the children had been restrained for prolonged periods during home visits starting in late February 2024, often while adults slept or were absent. Food was sometimes passed to the boy through the cage slats. The children had not left the home for about two years and received no routine medical or dental care since 2019. The bathroom lacked toothbrushes and toothpaste, only having mouthwash. The girl suffered severe dental decay with 14 cavities and was not toilet trained despite her age. Medical staff noted limited mobility and neck range of motion in the girl, linked to prolonged car seat restraint, along with concerns for medical neglect, developmental delay, and physical abuse.
A third child, aged 10, was also a victim, though details of their treatment were not specified. The eldest child reportedly told police that Ashley "hates" the younger ones and "doesn't care what happens." A physician from Penn State Health's Child Protective Team determined the circumstances met the definition of child torture: a longitudinal pattern of physical abuse combined with psychological maltreatment, premeditated and pervasive, causing significant harm. As of July 2025, the children were placed together with a family in York. The defendants are held in York County Prison on $250,000 bail each. Barker explained the delay in arrests, noting the need to gather comprehensive information since the children were already safe.
