New London ― Police have arrested a New London mother on charges linked to the abuse of her 10-year-old son, who police said was beaten, tied up and locked in a closet as punishment over the course of several months by his stepfather.

Melissa Gregor, 38, was charged Thursday with risk of injury to a minor, conspiracy to commit second-degree assault, conspiracy to commit unlawful restraint, conspiracy to commit cruelty to persons, conspiracy to commit first-degree strangulation and conspiracy to commit reckless endangerment.

Gregory posted a $250,000 bond and was arraigned Friday in New London Superior Court. New London Superior Court Judge Kevin J. Murphy ordered Gregor be confined to her home and monitored with a GPS device. A protective order also bars her from contact with the victim. It is her third domestic violence related arrest, according to courtroom testimony.

Gregor, who previously lived in an apartment on State Street in New London now lists her address as of 360 East Haddam Road in Moodus.

Police previously arrested Michael Gregor, the victim’s stepfather and Melissa Gregor’s husband, on charges that included an alleged assault against his wife on Jan. 29 at a State Street apartment shared by the couple and three children. Melissa Gregor had showed up at Jake’s Diner on the morning of Jan. 29 reporting she was beaten and held against her will.

Gregor was initially arrested on domestic assault charges. After further investigation, police charged Michael Gregor with second-degree assault, first-degree strangulation, cruelty to persons, risk of injury to a minor, unlawful restraint and reckless endangerment in connection with abuse of his stepson. He remains held in lieu of a $750,000 bond in that case.

Police said Melissa and Michael Gregor co-parent three children and use fentanyl together. Melissa Gregor told police the Jan. 29 assault stemmed from a dispute over her buying drugs, police said.

It was during Gregor’s Jan. 29 arrest at his State Street apartment that police said they found three children, one of whom was bruised, limping, malnourished and showing signs of hair loss. New London police described the living conditions at the apartment as “squalid” and “inhumane.”

The 10-year-old victim was in a room with a deadbolt on the outside and the only contents in the room were a plastic sheet and a blanket. The victim told police that he was wearing the same clothes and had not showered for weeks, the arrest warrant affidavit shows. The victim claimed he had been abused for several months by Gregor starting when the family lived in Norwich and continuing after a move to New London.

The victim told police he was hit repeatedly by Gregor and “in the past had been locked in a closet all day and could only come out to use the bathroom.“ Police said the victim also claimed to be ”hogtied“ and placed in a cabinet in the past, beaten, kicked and punched by his stepfather.

The victim, during a Feb. 6 interview at the Child Advocacy Center at St. Francis Hospital, remembered being placed “in a wooden box...shorter than the small desk in the interview room,” the affidavit states.

“The (victim) disclosed that he would be beaten if he tried to eat food. The (victim) stated that on multiple occasions he attempted to sneak out of the closet to get food, and if he was caught, he would be beaten,” the affidavit states. “The (victim) could not provide how much food he would consume per day because he had no sense of time in a closet where there was no light.”

The victim in the case was removed from school and was being home schooled, police said. Medical records show the Melissa Gregor “corroborated the (victim) was removed from school to hide evidence of injuries,” police said.

The boy was initially taken for treatment at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital and later transferred to Yale New Haven Hospital, where a doctor determined the boy had multiple traumas throughout his body and was malnourished.

The victim claimed that “his mother had no choice but to help Gregor because if she said anything about what was going on, Gregor would hit both of them,“ the affidavit states. The victim also told investigators his mother had stuffed her socks in his mouth on at least one occasion.

New London police have not released details of the investigation that led to Melissa Gregor’s arrest. The state Department of Children and Families has removed all three of the kids, all boys, from the home. Two of the children, including the 10-year-old victim and a 6-year-old, are staying with their paternal aunt, April Jacobson. She called Melissa Gregor a “horrible mother.”

An emotional Jacobson, in an interview outside the courthouse on Friday, said the 10-year-old victim is back in school and thriving.

“The fact that anyone would lay a hand on my little man is mind blowing,” she said. “He’s smiling. He’s happy. He’s safe and he’s loved.”

Melissa Gregor is due back in court on May 30.

g.smith@theday.com