TAYLORSVILLE, Utah — Taylorsville parents are facing charges of aggravated child abuse after they allegedly locked their 11-year-old child out of their home in an effort to teach them "how to be homeless."
Alysia Lynai McIntosh, 46, and Robert James McIntosh, 46, were arrested Thursday, and both face charges of aggravated child abuse and are being held without bail.
An investigation into the couple began on November 26, when a neighbor contacted police and asked them to conduct a welfare check on a neighborhood child.
The neighbor stated that the child came to her door to request access to the bathroom. The woman allowed the child to enter the home, and during the visit, the victim stated that they wanted to live with the neighbor and not return home because their parents had locked them out of the house.
Robert McIntosh came to retrieve the child and returned home, but hours later, the neighbor reached out to police after she allegedly saw the child in the garage for several hours without a coat.
Officers responded to the home and questioned Alysia McIntosh about the whereabouts of the child. Alysia allegedly told police that the child was in the garage and had been put there as a punishment.
When officers went to the garage, they found the child crawling out from under a truck bed cover, with only a thin blanket and using a shop knee pad as a pillow. Police also found a bucket in the garage that had a trash bag liner and a toilet seat.
Robert McIntosh told police that the child had been in the garage for the full night.
The child told detectives that they had gone to the neighbor's home and were picked up by Robert. However, they stated that their parents were so upset that they wouldn't let them inside to use the bathroom. The child added that Alysia threatened to call the police if the child entered the home.
Following his arrest, Robert McIntosh admitted to putting the child in the garage but denied the timeline, and said the child was being taught how to be homeless after stating they wanted to run away.
