HIGHLAND, Utah — Two Highland parents are facing child abandonment charges after police say they locked their child out of the family home multiple times while they went out of town.
FOX 13 News is not disclosing the names of the adults, who face three counts of Child Abandonment, to protect the identity of the victim.
According to court documents, the parents left their Utah County home in June for a family reunion, leaving their teenage son behind without access to the house. He was allegedly given a tent to use in the backyard, and told to use a garden hose for water, and to go to a nearby McDonald's or Walmart to use the bathroom.
Detectives with the Utah County Sheriff's Office added that the teen was also left a box of granola bars, a six-pack of Powerade, other snacks, and $41, which the father claimed was all he had at the time.
The parents told officers that they had been experiencing behavioral issues with the teenager, and for those reasons, he wasn't invited to the reunion. The boy's father added that he didn't expect the teen to stay in the tent and figured he would find somewhere else to stay.
On a separate occasion, on July 4, the boy returned home to find a note hanging on the door saying he wasn't allowed inside until his younger brother left for his mission. The victim's grandfather also saw the note and told the victim's parents that their actions weren't appropriate.
When interviewed by the Division of Child and Family Services, the boy told investigators that he was told by his parents that they would call the police if he came home. The teen added that he is financially responsible for himself, and his parents refused to give him his bank card, driver's license, or birth certificate.
A third instance occurred when police said the family planned a vacation to Goblin Valley. When the boy told his family he wasn't comfortable going on the trip, they answered that he would again be locked out of the house while they were gone.
The parents claimed to have had issues with the boy that stemmed from disorders he had been diagnosed with.
Police said the teen has been staying at multiple homes in the neighborhood during the incidents, and there are photos of him sleeping on a flatbed trailer on one occasion while being locked outside.
