- A Highland couple was arrested for allegedly locking their son outside.
- The boy, left with limited food, stayed in a backyard tent.
- Parents claimed son's behavior issues; police investigate child abandonment charges.
HIGHLAND — A couple has been arrested after allegedly locking their son out of the house while they went out of town and making him live in a tent in the backyard with little food.
The father and mother, both 45, were booked into the Utah County Jail on Monday for investigation of three counts each of child abandonment.
According to a police booking affidavit, the parents left their home to go to a family reunion in June, but "due to some behavior issues that they had been experiencing with (their son), they told him he was not invited. They left him home alone with no access to the house. The house was locked and he was left with a tent in the backyard. He was told to use the hose for water and to go to McDonald's or Walmart — approximately 1 mile away — if he needed to use the bathroom," the affidavit states.
The boy's parents left their son with "a 'Costco-size' box of granola bars, a six-pack of Powerade, some other snacks and $41 — the amount his dad had in his wallet at the time," according to the affidavit.
The affidavit does not specify the boy's age.
When questioned by police, the father told officers he knew his son "wouldn't stay in the tent and that he would find somewhere else to sleep," the affidavit states.
On another occasion, in July, the boy says he arrived at home to find a note on the door which read, "You are not allowed at home" until his older brother left for his church mission, according to the affidavit. The boy was locked out of his home for approximately a week in both the June and July incidents, police stated. The boy also told investigators with the Utah Division of Child and Family Services "that his parents would threaten to call the police and have him charged with trespassing if he came home.
"(The boy) was told that he is financially responsible for himself. Yet his parents will not give him his bank card. He is unable to access his savings account because they will not give him his birth certificate or his driver's license, stating that they are liable for him until he is 18. They have told him that he can have his items when he turns 18," according to the affidavit.
On another occasion, when the family was preparing to go on another vacation, the boy told his mother that he did not want to go "due to them not getting along, so they told him he would be locked out during the trip," the affidavit states.
The parents allegedly told police about their son's "fetal alcohol syndrome and reactive attachment disorder, and how defiant he is due to these disorders," according to police.
"It appears that they have been trying to teach him a lesson by locking him out when he misses curfew and locking the house when they go away on trips," police wrote in the affidavit.
The father claimed the boy was never locked out of the house after the June incident, "but that is disputed by (the boy), and the family that is taking care of him. When asked if they were providing any financial assistance to the family taking care of (the boy), (the father) said 'No,' that they hadn't asked for any money," the affidavit states.
"(The boy) has been staying at multiple homes in the neighborhood this year," police wrote in their affidavit.
Child abuse resources:
- Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465). Resources are also available online: udvc.org. The statewide child abuse and neglect hotline is 1-855-323-DCFS (3237).
- The Utah Division of Child and Family Services offers counseling, teaches parenting skills and conflict resolution and can connect families with community resources. Its goal is to keep children with their family when it is "possible and safe." Visit dcfs.utah.gov/contact-us/ or call 801-538-4100.
- The Christmas Box House acts as a temporary shelter for children and can provide them with new clothing and shoes, among other services. Call the Salt Lake office at 801-747-2201 or the Ogden office at 801-866-0350.
