A 7-year-old boy and his sister were taken into state custody Monday after teachers allegedly found burn marks on him, the Boston Globe reported. His mother's boyfriend, David Privette, who was recently released after serving a drug sentence, has been charged with assaulting him.

Social workers had visited the boy's home in Middleborough, Mass., four times since December. On March 4, they went to the home after the school reported that he said he had been burned but reportedly didn't examine his body for burn marks.

"This kid was sent home to be tortured for another 13 days, as far as I'm concerned, because somebody dropped the ball," Middleborough Police Chief Gary J. Russell said. "It makes you want to cry. This kid was tortured."