The father of a boy who was found chained and tortured in Mexico is still concerned, even though the boy is out of harm's way.
"I hope soon I can talk to him," Pascual Castro told Telemundo 20.
Castro's 5-year-old son was sent to Mexico to live with relatives. He says he believed it was best for his son at the time but now he regrets the decision.
An anonymous tip on June 28 led officers to the starving, injured boy with chains wrapped around his legs in a neighborhood outside of Mexico City.
The boy was born in Escondido and has dual citizenship. He's now in the center of a custody battle.
His parents, Castro and the boy's mother, Dawn Sanderson, are estranged. Each wants custody.
Castro said officials in Mexico have told him he cannot have any communication with his son while the incident is under investigation.
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He said he has been told his son is in the hospital and has been playing with other children.
"I'm feeling happy because I have good news about Anthony," he said. "I would tell him 'Anthony, I love you, son.'"
Castro, a Mexican national, would send $500 a month to his sister and brother-in-law in Mexico City to care for the boy.
Sanderson, a U.S. citizen, lost custody of her son when he was only 11 months old.
The sister and brother-in-law face child abuse charges, according to Mexican law enforcement authorities.
It's not known if the child will return to the U.S. or be placed in foster care in Mexico City.
Telemundo20 confirmed with Marcela Celorio, the Mexican Consul General in San Diego, that the boy may be placed in foster care at least temporarily.
What ultimately happens depends on the special prosecutor for the rights of children in Mexico City.
