Four charged after 5-year-old found illegally restrained in North Georgia home

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Pedro Banuelos Herrera, Marisol Pena-Acosta, Pilar Herrera Hernandez, and Juventino Banuelos. (Lumpkin County Sheriff's Office)

LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga. - Four residents of a home on Iberian Road are in custody after Lumpkin County authorities discovered a 5-year-old boy being held in illegal restraints, the sheriff’s office announced Friday. 

What we know:

The discovery was made on Dec. 23 while deputies were conducting a follow-up investigation into an unrelated report of a runaway juvenile, which led them to the residence where they found the young boy "being restrained inside a residence on Iberian Road in a manner not permitted under Georgia law." 

Authorities arrested four adults living at the home: 45-year-old Pedro Banuelos Herrera, 41-year-old Marisol Pena-Acosta, 74-year-old Pilar Herrera Hernandez, and 20-year-old Juventino Banuelos.

Investigators cited "their knowledge of the conditions under which the child was being restrained." 

What they're saying:

Sheriff Stacy Jarrard expressed appreciation for the personnel involved in the response, which included assistance from the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services as well as fire and EMS teams from both Lumpkin and Dawson counties, noting that the case "remains under active investigation at this time."

What we don't know:

Authorities have not yet specified the exact nature of the restraints used on the 5-year-old boy or how long he had been held in those conditions. 

It is also unclear what relationship, if any, the four suspects have to the child. 

Officials have not released information regarding the child's current health status or whether other children were found inside the home.

The exact charges were not released.

The current jail status of the four arrested adults was not immediately known.