SCRANTON - The state Superior Court vacated a Lackawanna County judge's decision to dismiss charges against a city couple accused of locking a 7-year-old boy in a basement.
Judge Vito P. Geroulo erred when he dismissed charges of endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful restraint filed against the boy's mother, Lori Gardner, 27, and one charge of unlawful restraint against the boy's stepfather, Brian Sleboda, 33, the appellate court ruled.
Judge Geroulo upheld city police's decision to charge Mr. Sleboda with one count of endangering the welfare of a child.
Police were dispatched to their 823 Raines St. home on Sept. 26, 2011, after neighbors found the boy outside crying, wearing a shirt and a diaper. The appellate judges returned the cases to county court.