Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- A Highland couple faces charges of child abandonment for allegedly locking their teenage son out.
- The investigation began in June when they allegedly left him with minimal resources for days.
- Prosecutors say the parents failed to provide adequate arrangements for their son's well-being.
HIGHLAND — A Highland couple were charged Friday with locking their teenage son out of the house for extended periods of time with few resources.
The father and mother, both 45, were each charged in 4th District Court with two counts each of child abandonment, a third-degree felony.
The investigation began in June when the couple left town for six days but told their 17-year-old son he could not live in the house while they were gone. The parents gave the boy "a tent and told him to sleep in the yard, drink from the hose, and go to Walmart or McDonalds to use the bathroom. They left him with $41, a box of Cheez-Its, a few other snacks and a six-pack of Gatorade," according to charging documents.
After the teen stayed one night in the tent, another family invited him to stay with them.
"During that week (the family) bought clothes for (the teen) because all he had was two shirts, a hoodie, and a pair of sweatpants," the charges state. But when the boy's mother returned, she "threw away the clothing that (the family) had purchased."
Prosecutors say the teen's parents "told their religious leader that they had made arrangements for (their son) to stay with the family, which was not true. The defendants did not make any adequate arrangements for (his) safety, housing — during a heat wave — clothing, hydration, or sanitation," the charges allege.
By September, the parents obtained a court order preventing their son from contacting the other family, "based on a false allegation. The no-contact order was initially granted but later withdrawn," according to the charges.
The teen described to police "several months of tension with his parents" and "does not dispute that he has been getting into trouble, including taking family members' vehicles without permission and some retail thefts," according to court documents. The parents, however, locked the teen out of the house when he missed curfew or "otherwise displeased" them.
"For example, in or about early July 2025, when (the teen) returned to the home after curfew, there was a note on the door telling him not to come back until later that week. Neighbors observed (him) sleeping on a flatbed trailer on the street," the charges state.
The parents also allegedly told the teen over the summer "that they would not be financially responsible for him any longer." But prosecutors say they also "confiscated his driver's license, birth certificate and bank card, leaving him without means of finding or holding a job," the charges state.
Furthermore, when his father took the teen to the bank, "he charged (the boy) $40-$50 for the trip," refused to let him withdraw money from his account, and "instead, (the parents) withdrew money from (their son's) account as fees for things like 'not loading the dishes,'" charging documents allege.
The charges also state that the teen needed an IEP or individualized education program for school, a program designed to help students with disabilities. But his parents "refused to attend a meeting to set up the IEP, while at the same time refusing to allow (the other family) to attend in their place," according to the charges. "(The teen) was in counseling as part of his juvenile adjudication, but the defendants pulled him out of therapy and have not sought alternative treatment to address (his) mental and emotional needs."
The mother and father were arrested on Monday.
