Infant, Other Children Found Locked in a Shed by Police in Ogden, Utah [WATCH]

Police body-camera footage released from the Ogden Police Department shows the moment officers found five children, including an infant, locked inside a backyard shed while investigating a shoplifting case last month.

On November 15, officers were following up on a shoplifting incident connected to 36-year-old Wilber Rojas, who had an active felony warrant.

According to police, Rojas had given false information to officers regarding his wife’s shoplifting arrest, leading investigators to obtain a search warrant for his residence.

When officers arrived at the property, body-camera video captured them approaching a shed in the backyard.

As officers examined the structure, one is heard asking, “Why are they locked in the shed?”

The video showed officers cutting a cord that had been securing the door from the outside.

Moments later, children emerged from the small space.

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Police reported that the five victims ranged in age from just a few months old to six years old.

“Come here, sweetheart,” an officer said while guiding one of the children out of the shed.

Retired law-enforcement officer Chris Bertram reviewed the footage and said the situation created a significant risk for the children.

“The fact that door was secured from the outside, that scares me,” he said.

Bertram noted that officers quickly redirected their efforts once they realized they had located children who needed immediate attention.

“You saw these officers, it caught them off guard. I think they still wanted to continue searching, but quickly realized, ‘We got to take care of these kids.’”

After the children were removed from the shed, officers continued searching the property and found Rojas hiding inside a vehicle in the backyard.

Body-camera footage showed officers deploying a non-lethal bean-bag round in order to take him into custody.

“Let’s do a bean bag,” one officer said before a loud “bang” was heard.

Child-abuse advocate Caroline Ashton said the discovery was disturbing and reflected issues seen within local communities.

“This happens right in our backyard,” she said.

Ashton explained that children found alone or in unsafe conditions are often without support or assistance.

“The kids were left with no resources, nowhere to go, and were left to watch themselves,” she said, describing the environment as highly dangerous.

When asked what steps follow when children are removed from situations like this, Ashton said there are procedures in place to ensure they receive help.

“The best option we have seen so far is a Children’s Justice Center they can be taken there it’s really a one-stop shop for a lot of different resources for kids.”

Children’s Justice Centers operate throughout Utah and provide coordinated services for minors involved in abuse cases.

Rojas was booked into the Weber County Jail following his arrest.

He faces five counts of intentional child abuse and two additional misdemeanor charges.