COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- A detention center counselor remains in jail on $100,000 bond after she was arrested Thursday night for allegedly locking her 13-year-old grandson in a dog kennel while she's at work, Commerce City police said.

June Candelario, 61, faces charges of second-degree kidnapping, reckless endangerment, false imprisonment and child abuse. Commerce City police were alerted to the case when they were called to a home in the 68th Avenue and Ash Street on a report of a child abuse.

During their investigation, officers learned that Candelario may have been keeping her grandson in a 46-by-30-by-35-inch dog kennel, in the bedroom when she was at work. Police said this may have been going on for the past three years.

Police said the boy told his friend about what was happening, the friend told his mother and the mother reported it to police.

Candelario works as a counselor for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department and works Monday to Thursday from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Investigators believe she would lock the boy in the kennel just prior to leaving for work and would then open the kennel when she got home around 3 a.m.

"My understanding is that ... he was doing his homework from inside the cage," said Commerce City police Lt. Chuck Saunier. "I don't know if there was any food or water available."

Some neighbors who talked to 7NEWS seem shocked by the allegations. They say the boy is smart, attends a nearby middle school and from what they know, appears to have a good relationship with his grandmother. They also don't understand how a 13-year-old boy would let himself be caged in a kennel every night.

"I see the kid running back from school, but I never see him out. I thought that was kinda strange because I have kids too, and my kids know him... But he's always running. It's like he has a deadline or something," said neighbor Christy Wahl.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has suspended Candelario with pay until the investigation is complete. Candelario is also a former trooper with the Colorado State Patrol, 7NEWS reported.

The boy is in protective custody and is said to be doing fine.