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Chaining 6-Year-Old Son To Bed Gets Utah Dad Jailed
Babysitters are expensive. Daycare services get expensive. EVERYTHING is more expensive in a post-recession America. That I understand.
However, none of that explains this bizarre solution that one Utah father used to keep his young son “secure” while he worked.
The Associated Press reports that on Tuesday, authorities filed child abuse charges against a Logan, Utah man who regularly chained his 6-year-old son to a bed frame.
Police were called to the location, which is about 80 miles north of Salt Lake City, at around 11:00 am thanks to an anonymous tip. Authorities found the boy home by himself.
The child had a chain padlocked to his his ankle with the other end attached to a metal bed frame.
Dad arrested after 6-year-old found chained inside #Logan home: http://t.co/ceCazCZQaC @fox13now #Utah pic.twitter.com/x9mQKSXC8h
— Ben Winslow (@BenWinslow) June 11, 2014
According to Logan City Police Chief Gary Jensen, the chain was lengthy enough to assure the child could reach the nearby bathroom.
Jensen also stated that the that the child had access to water and snacks. It’s unclear how long the child was chained to the bed prior to the arrival of police officers.
Somehow the 28-year-old man believed that chaining his child every day while he worked ensured that the child was safe. He has no doubt been informed otherwise since being booked into the Cache County Jail.
The father was charged with four counts of child abuse.
His name was initially withheld in order to avoid the young child’s identity from being inadvertently released to the public. He has since been identified as Sammie Hodges.
In 2009 the man was convicted of felony forgery. In 2011, he was arrested for breaking the terms of his probation.
A 6-year-old boy was found chained to his bed in Logan. Father is in custody, boy is with Child and Family Services:
http://t.co/abZzNc38aE
— Salt Lake Tribune (@sltrib) June 10, 2014
Authorities believe that the child lived alone with his father; the child’s mother wasn’t believed to live with the father and son and there is no evidence of other children in the home.
The child is said to be in good health, but Jensen stated that he will undergo additional examination.
The boy is currently in the custody of child welfare services.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
