Florida Parents Facing Child Abuse Charges had entered a not guilty plea for forcing their adopted teenage son to live in a box inside the garage of their home. Charges of aggravated child abuse and false imprisonment had been filed against Tracy and Timothy Ferriter.
The police discovered the box at the residence of the Ferriters when they reported that their 14-year-old son had been missing since the end of January. The mom told the cops that the box, roughly 8x8 foot, was supposed to be a temporary office and was later converted to a storage room.
However, the structure had a camera, a mattress, chair and desk, personal items like books, and a bucket used for urinating and defecating, per Fox News. The police also noticed the box's light source could only be turned on and off from the outside next to the deadbolt.
"No One Loves Me"
The police found the teenager when he resurfaced at the Independence Middle School. He detailed that his parents have been locking him up in the box for up to 18 hours a day for the last five years, especially when there are no classes.
According to WPTV, the teenager said he ran away because "no one loves me" and then asked the cops to arrest him because being in jail would be better than being at home. The investigators allege that the Florida parents may have been physically abusing their son, apart from locking him up.
The Ferriters were taken into custody while their son and three other kids in the house are now in the care of Child Protective Services. Tracy and Timothy faced the courts on Wednesday, February 9, and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges of aggravated child abuse and false imprisonment.
The judge has set their bond at $50,000 each. The parents were also ordered not to have any contact with their children without the expressed permission of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Teen Suffers from Reactive Attachment Disorder
However, Nellie King, the defense attorney, said that the Florida parents locked the 14-year-old boy because he suffered from reactive attachment disorder (RAD). According to the Cleveland Clinic, RAD is common in kids who have experienced emotional and physical neglect and abuse. The condition prevents them from forming an emotional bond with their primary cares or parental figures.
Tracy did inform the police when they filed for the missing person's report that their son had several behavioral disorders, which has often landed him in trouble in school. One of the other kids also confirmed to the cops that their brother was locked in the box if he misbehaved or got into trouble. The police report did not indicate that the other children had been abused.
Neighbors told the investigators that they had seen the box in the garage, but the Ferriters and their kids mostly kept to themselves. After coming from Arizona, the Ferriters have been living in the same neighborhood for 16 years.
