Florida Couple Forced Son to Live in Locked Structure in Garage for Years, Police Say

Marlene Lenthang of NBC News wrote:A Florida couple was arrested after they allegedly locked up their 14-year-old son in a small structure in the garage, where he was monitored with a camera and had a bucket to use as a bathroom, police said.

The parents, Tracy and Timothy Ferriter, both 46, were charged with aggravated child abuse and false imprisonment, the Jupiter Police Department announced Wednesday in a news release.

Authorities learned of the living conditions the boy was allegedly subjected to on Jan. 30, when detectives visited the Ferriter residence in Egret Landing after the boy was reported as a runaway.

Tracy allowed one detective into the home, who found an 8-foot-by-8-foot structure in the garage that the mother said was used "as an office or for storage space," police said.

It had a doorknob and a deadbolt, "both locking from the outside, as well as a light switch only on the exterior," according to authorities.

There was a camera, mattress and a bucket in the structure, police said.

The boy was found the next day at school and interviewed by detectives.

He told officers he ran away “because I feel like no one loves me,” according to a criminal probable cause affidavit.

The boy told detectives he did not want to return to his family, pleaded to be arrested and stated "he would rather be in prison than be back home,” the document states.

He said the longest occasion he remembered being locked in the room was 16 to 18 hours, according to the affidavit. The teen also told police he had a room similar to the structure in the garage when his family lived in Arizona.

Police also interviewed one of the boy’s siblings who said the victim was locked in the structure when he was misbehaving or in trouble before adding he “is in trouble a lot.”

Police later determined the boy “has been physically abused and forcibly confined to live within the garage structure” since at least 2017.

He was allowed to attend school but was “forced to stay in the structure the rest of the day,” police said.

“Meals were brought to the child and the bucket was provided for bathroom use,” police said in the news release.

Police got a search warrant to search the Ring camera in the room and found “thousands of videos” showing the child “being repeatedly locked inside of his room daily.”

One video showed him being locked in the room after “being found to have ‘stolen’ chocolate and cookies from the kitchen despite being told he was not allowed to have them," according to the affidavit.

It also states that the police department received a call in December 2021 from a man who said he was contacted to build an office in the garage of the home and he found the specific instructions to be "very strange."

His description of the structure matched the description provided by police in the news release.

The man told police "if someone were inside the office they would not be able to exit unless someone opened the door for them from the outside," according to the affidavit. He also said "the entire project was to be completed within two days."

It was not clear Thursday what authorities did after the man went to police with that information.

The couple had three other children living in the home. They have been removed by the Florida Department of Children and Families, police said. Police said the boy had been adopted by the Ferriters; they did not mention the status of the other three children.

The investigation is ongoing.

The Ferriters appeared in court Wednesday and were ordered to be held on $50,000 bail and to have no contact with their kids unless given permission by the state Department of Children and Families, NBC affiliate WPTV of West Palm Beach, reported. They were later released on bond, according to the news station.

The couple’s attorney, Nellie King, told NBC News Thursday that she presented "critical evidence" in the case to police that was "ignored."

"Law enforcement has an obligation to conduct investigations in an objective and thorough manner. I made information known to the police in order to assist them in the factfinding process, including evidence from Arizona where this family had lived up until a month ago. This critical evidence was ignored," she said.

"In the criminal legal system, the temptation for a community to rush to judge is tempered by the judicial process, a presumption of innocence, and the facts," she added. "What Tim and Tracy have lived through the past many years will therefore be presented in court."

Fox 13 News staff wrote:

JUPITER, Fla. - A Florida couple has been charged with aggravated child abuse after they allegedly forced their 13-year-old adopted son to live in an 8’x8’ box located in their garage, officials said.

Jupiter police arrested Tracy and Timothy Ferriter after investigators said the child was forced to live in the structure for five years, since he was first adopted.

WPTV reports that the teen was able to attend school, but was locked up the rest of the day while at home, police said. Meals were brought to him and a bucket was provided for bathroom use. A mattress was also placed inside. A deadbolt and a light switch were installed on the outside of the box and a camera was installed inside, investigators said.

Detectives said the Ferriters had been physically abusing and locking the boy up since they first adopted him in 2017.

The boy told Jupiter police he was "slammed against a wall by his neck" and was spanked with a belt and a jump rope, according to WPEC.

The arrest came after Tracey reported her son missing on Jan. 28. Days later, on Jan. 30, investigators visited the home and said they found the structure.

Police visited the 13-year-old at Independence Middle School, where they interviewed him and learned of his alleged living conditions, officials said. The boy allegedly told the detectives that he was locked away for up to 18 hours per day.

The child told investigators he ran away from the home "because I feel like no one loves me" and that he did not feel safe, WPTV reported. The teen then pleaded with officers to arrest him, saying "he would rather be in prison than be back at home."

After the couple was arrested, the other children living in the home, including a 2-year-old, were taken into protective custody by DCF, according to WPTV.

In court, the couple's defense attorney that suggested the teen had reactive attachment disorder, a condition where child doesn't form a healthy emotional bond with his or her caretakers, and said the condition may have been a reason why the Ferriters locked the teen up.

The Ferriters have been charged with aggravated child abuse and false imprisonment and are being held at the Palm Beach County Jail, police said. Their bond was set at $50,000 by a judge, who also instructed them to have no contact with any of their children, WPEC reported. They both bonded out hours later.