Miami Beach Man Tied Wandering 12-Year-Old Son to Pole Outside Home: Police

The son said he didn’t tell his father he was at a friend’s house, and said his dad is innocent

A Miami Beach father is facing an aggravated child abuse charge after he tied his 12-year-old son to a pole and left him for hours while he went shopping, police said.

Adolfo Guzman, 49, was arrested Sunday, according to a Miami Beach Police report released Monday.

A public defender was appointed for Guzman during a court hearing Monday where he was ordered held on $50,000 bond and ordered to have no contact with his son.

Guzman had been concerned when his son disappeared for a few hours the day before and "warned him he would tie him up if he continued to wander off," the report said.

The boy told NBC 6 that he didn't listen to his father, and didn't tell him he was at a friend's house Sunday.

“I was feeling bad because it all was my fault. He's innocent, so it's all my fault," the son said.

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Police said that after the son disappeared again without permission and returned home, Guzman used a bicycle cable wire lock and tied him to a concrete pole outside the family's home.

Guzman left to go shopping and didn't come back for a couple hours, the report said. In the meantime, witnesses flagged down police officers and told them about the tied-up child, the report said.

Miami Beach Police spokesman Sgt. Bobby Hernandez said the boy was found by a group of Jehovah's Witnesses tied up around his ankle to a laundry pole (pictured below) in a common area of an apartment building.

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The boy complained of pain caused by the cable and the officers requested the Miami Beach Fire Department cut him loose.

When Guzman returned home around 1:30 p.m., he was arrested and later admitted to tying his son up, the report said.

A Department of Children and Families spokesperson said they have no history with the family and the child is now with a relative.

"I've never seen this before," Hernandez said. "You shouldn't even be chaining a dog up to a pole much less your own son."

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