A Florida couple kept their two young children locked in homemade cages while the parents worked at the University of Florida, according to police in Gainesville, Fla.

An investigation into the potential abuse began when the couple’s 6-year-old son told an employee at his school he didn’t want to go home because he’d be locked in a cage his father had built, according to the Miami Herald. The couple also has a 2-year-old child.

Investigators arrived at the couple’s home to find a “large unsanded, wooden enclosure made of pressure-treated 2×4′s that appeared to be a makeshift cage,” according to an arrest report obtained by the newspaper.

The cage had two stainless steel bolts to close the door and the rails only had a few inches between them to look through.

The 6-year-old told police he would have to go in the cage when he came home from school and in some cases remained there until he left for school the next morning at 7 a.m., according to the arrest report. He also said he was made to wear diapers while he was in the cage, but was allowed to use the bathroom during the day.

The younger child, meanwhile, was caged by using an overturned crib placed on top of a mattress on the floor with the 2-year-old inside. Because it was turned upside down, the crib had exposed metal springs.

The children were removed from the home and into the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families. As the children were leaving, the 6-year-old reportedly said “I didn’t want anyone to get in trouble. I just didn’t want to be in the cage.”

The parents, ages 31 and 35, are charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse and one count of child neglect. Aggravated child abuse is a 1st-degree felony in Florida, punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Child neglect is a 3rd-degree felony which carries a maximum sentence of five years and a fine of up to $5,000.

They were arrested Dec. 8 and placed on administrative leave from the University of Florida on Dec. 11, according to the report. The parents had been biological scientists at the university for many years, a university spokesperson told the Herald.