Context: A journalist is talking about a murder. A boy and his mother were in the room where a man was killed (actually the boy killed the man, but it is not known yet). The police arrests the mother suspecting she is the killer.
男は鈍器で頭部を殴られ死亡。その部屋にいた負傷した少年が保護されましたが服には男の血が付着しており今も事情を聞いているとのことです。
What is the meaning of 保護されました? Does it refer to the child being now under protection? Or does it mean he is being held as a prisoner (into custody) by the police?
It's not the first time I encounter the term 保護 and don't understand if it refers to protect someone or take someone into custody because he did something bad, so I would like a specific explanation for this sentence and a general explanation of the term 保護. Thank you for your help!