Social worker arrested after child cuffed to porch

Dorian Lee Harper is seen in an undated photo provided by the Union County, N.C. Sheriff’s Office. Harper and Wanda Sue Larson, a North Carolina social worker, were arrested Friday, Nov. 15, 2013 after a foster child was found cuffed by the ankle to Larson’s front porch in Monroe, N.C., with a dead chicken hanging from around his neck. AP

MONROE, North Carolina – A North Carolina social worker is under arrest after a foster child was found cuffed by the ankle to her front porch with a dead chicken hanging from around his neck.

Wanda Sue Larson and Dorian Lee Harper were arrested Friday after a sheriff’s deputy found the shivering 11-year-old boy. Larson is a supervisor with Union County Department of Social Services. The couple, both 57, adopted four children and were serving as foster parents to the fifth child.

Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey called the incident shocking. Harper and Larson are charged with intentional child abuse inflicting serious injury, false imprisonment and cruelty to animals.

They are in jail awaiting a court appearance set for Monday.

The children, ages 8 to 14, have been removed from the home.