LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — The son of a New Mexico woman accused of locking an 8-year-old girl with developmental disabilities in a wooden cage said he offered to stay with the girl while the rest of the household went out to a movie, authorities said.

The boy said he was uncomfortable with leaving the girl alone because she was asleep, but the woman — Cindy Patriarchias — said the girl would be "fine because they weren't going to be out long," according to a criminal complaint.

Patriarchias and her boyfriend, Edmond Gonzales, left the girl in the cage while they took her three children to an elementary school Friday to watch the movie, Las Cruces police said.