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JACOB H. FRIESThe 5-year-old's mother and her live-in boyfriend are both arrested.
LARGO - To his 5-year-old mind, it wasn't always clear why his mother's boyfriend would stuff him head first into a chest freezer.
Eventually, he found a way out: Stop crying.
On Thursday, Largo police arrested the boy's mother, Melissa Bentley Hansen, 32, of 704 Beverly Ave., on a charge of child neglect for failing to protect her son from her live-in boyfriend, Nicholas Jermaine Black. Black, 23, put the boy inside the freezer and sat on top to keep him inside at least five times since mid October, detectives said.
"The kid could be heard inside the freezer, obviously kicking and pushing to get out," said Largo police Sgt. Stephen Slaughter. "That child must have been scared to death."
Black, who faces an aggravated child abuse charge, was being held without bail in Pinellas County Jail. Hansen, meanwhile, remained in custody in lieu of $20,000 bail.
The investigation was triggered Wednesday evening after an anonymous call to a child abuse hotline, Detective Mike Stephenson said. The caller said the boy was often locked in the freezer until he stopped crying.
Stephenson went to a relative's home where the boy and his 11-year-old sister were staying Wednesday night. The children, whose names were not made public, showed no signs of physical abuse and appeared to be otherwise well-fed and clothed.
Neither of them could explain precisely what prompted Black to lock the boy in the freezer with frozen meat and vegetables, Stephenson said. Sometimes, the boy was punished for bugging his sister. Sometimes, he hadn't done anything.
At least once, Black sat on the freezer door and laughed while the boy was inside, the detective said. The girl was never put inside, though she told police Black tried once.
The boy apparently was kept inside for no more than two minutes.
"He said he got the chills, but was able to warm himself a little," the detective said.
Stephenson confronted the couple on Thursday with the children's account. Black, who works as a boat repairman, told the detective he had never locked the child inside the freezer. Instead, Black said, he only put the boy's head inside and held him there until he got cold, the detective said.
"He said it started out as a joke and then it turned into, "Do you want to go into the freezer?"' Stephenson said.
Hansen, a self-employed house cleaner, was present during at least one of the incidents and supported Black's version, Stephenson said. The couple's relationship dates back to about mid October, when the first incident allegedly occurred.
Neither Hansen's nor Black's relatives could be reached for comment Thursday evening.
Records show Black has been arrested before in Pinellas County on misdemeanor charges, including obtaining property in exchange for a worthless check in 2004. Hansen's record in the county is limited to a traffic offense.
The children are staying with a relative and remain under the supervision of the state Department of Children and Families.
Before ending his interview and leaving the boy to his coloring books, Stephenson asked the boy what the police should do with Black.
"Take him to jail," the boy replied.
Jacob H. Fries can be reached at 445-4156 or jfries@sptimes.com