by SHERN-MIN CHOW & MICHELLE HOMER
KHOU-TV
Posted on May 26, 2010 at 9:33 AM

CLEVELAND, Texas – Three children have been taken away from their mother in Liberty County after an 8-year-old boy told neighbors he’d been forced to live in a church by himself.

The Bethel Baptist Church is across the street from the family’s home on FM 321 in Cleveland.

The boy told an employee at a veterinarian’s office next door that his mother, Patricia McHaney, forced him to stay there alone for several days.

McHaney, 28, left him with nothing but a roll of toilet paper and paint can to use as a toilet, according to an affidavit obtained by 11 News.

The employee called police and officers found the boy "dirty, bare-footed and emaciated," the affidavit said.

Police found a small fan and two empty water bottles inside the small church.

The boy told investigators that his mother brought him food a few times a day, but records show he weighed only 45 pounds and was "very underweight."

The 8-year-old told police his mother also refused to speak to him and forced him to sleep in the family’s pickup truck at night.

The victim said he didn’t know why he was being punished and felt he was being "shunned" by his family.

Relatives confirmed the child’s story.

"No ma’am, it’s not wrong, they’s telling the truth," said Bobbie Jennings, the boy’s paternal great grandmother.

McHaney admitted she put her son in the church to punish him for being "mean to his brother" and for not doing his homework, according to the affidavit.

McHaney’s own mother said her daughter is not stable.

"It’s hard. I love her very much, don’t think that I don’t, but I have to think about the kids," Lisa Kaster said.

The boys have three different fathers, and one of them is in jail.

McHaney and her three sons have been living with the church pastor and his wife, who are apparently relatives.

The pastor said he’d been worried about the boys.

"Always hungry, wanted something to eat," he said.

Other relatives are wondering why the pastor and his wife didn’t intervene.

CPS has investigated McHaney four times since 2001, but they determined each time that the children were safe.

The boys are in CPS custody now and staying with family friends while the investigation continues.

http://www.wfaa.com/news/8-year-old-Mom-forced-me-to-live-in-church-with-
no-running-water--94921984.html

Emphasis added by H4K Editor