A Florida boy who drowned in a bathtub in April allegedly had food withheld and was locked in a dog cage by his mom and her husband who are now charged with child abuse.
Anthony Rouse died on April 22 after he was found in the bathtub of his mother’s Polk County home.
An investigation into his death revealed the alleged abuse, which included his stepfather holding his head underwater prior to his death.
An affidavit connected to the case states that police officers discovered that one room inside the home had a lock installed improperly in order to keep children in and that the room had clothing soiled in ‘urine and feces.’
According to police records, Tre Seymore, 27, and Alize Seymore, 25, have been charged with multiple counts of child abuse and tampering with a witness each.
Anthony’s biological father, Andre Rouse, spoke with WTSP and said that he had been fighting for custody of his son and that he still is struggling to accept his death.
‘I still can’t wrap my head around it and it still really hurts,’ Andre said.
In an affidavit shared with 10 Tampa Bay, a 10-year-old boy who lived inside the Polk County home said he and his siblings would be rewarded for ‘beating up’ Anthony.
The boy said while talking with police that he watched Tre hold Anthony’s head under the water in the bathtub before police were called to the house.
Along with being confined to a dog cage in the garage, the affidavits in the case reference physical punishments and other ‘torture.’
‘The lock to the bedroom where the children and victim slept was observed to be placed backwards,’ the affidavit reads, stating it was ‘purposely’ installed wrong.
‘The bedroom did not have electricity and was filled with clothing items which were soiled with urine and feces,’ the document continued.
An official with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation has now been handed off to the State Attorney’s Office.
The official said they expect additional charges will be filed against the couple.
Talking with WTSP, Andre said that he had been fighting for sole custody of his son -who he shared with Alize – for months prior to his death.
According to Andre, the child lived in state care for the first two years of his life because Alize had a Department of Children and Families case against her.
After that, Andre said he had sole custody from the ages of two to five but that Anthony recently was moved to Alize’s home as he faced a stint in jail for a domestic violence conviction related to a previous relationship.
His stint in jail put Anthony back into Alize’s care, now with her new husband – whom she married in May 2021, public records show.
‘They felt the need to take him from someone he knew his whole life and just throw him directly to someone he’d only seen, you know, a handful of times,’ Andre said.
The grieving dad said being placed with Alize and Tre ‘messed with him [Anthony] mentally’ and that he begged to go back with his dad during phone calls.
‘I could hear it in his voice, you know, he’ll call me and say, ‘Daddy, I want to come back with you,’ Andre said.
When he learned that his son was being hospitalized for a drowning, Andre said it was one of the most heartbreaking moments of his life.
‘My body shook. I dropped to my knees and started sobbing. I knew it wasn’t going to end well,’ he said.
He is now urging anyone who may know or suspect abuse to report it to help save children from his own son’s fate.
‘If you see something, say something,’ he said. ‘Say something before it’s too late.’
