Police in the city of Jupiter, Florida have arrested a husband and wife and charged them with aggravated child abuse after they allegedly imprisoned their adopted son! The teenager was forced to live in a small compartment in his parents’ garage for the last five years — and not even allowed to use the bathroom.
Timothy Ferriter and his wife, Tracy Ferriter, were arrested this week in the south Florida city in the days after Tracy first reported their 14-year-old son missing from the family home.
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Police first arrived at their home to take the missing persons report — but as the investigation continued, detectives discovered what was really going on with the Ferriters (pictured in their mugshots, above).
According to police docs, once officers arrived on the scene in Jupiter, they discovered “an 8-by-8 structure inside the garage” that had a deadbolt which locked from the outside. The room also had a light switch that was placed on an exterior wall, meaning the boy didn’t even have control over his light.
Inside the makeshift prison cell, cops then reportedly discovered “a mattress, a sheet, some books, and other personal items.” When questioned by cops about it, Tracy allegedly told them the structure was “a small office.” Um… an office that you can lock someone in??
Once the missing teen resurfaced at school the following day and police questioned him about his home life, a very different story emerged.
The police report notes that when officers asked the 14-year-old about why he ran away in the first place, the teen tragically responded with this:
“Because I feel like no one loves me.”
Our heart breaks…
The teen — who had apparently been adopted by the couple — then “pleaded with officers to arrest him,” according to the report, because he “would rather be in prison than be back at home.” Detectives dug deeper into the family situation, and began to put pieces together regarding the garage structure. Now police allege the Ferriters had been abusing the teen and “forcibly confining” him to live in the garage cell “since 2017.”
Five years?!?!
The teenager was allowed to attend school, but other than that, he was locked up for the remainder of every day while at home. All of his meals were brought to him, the police report alleges, and he was provided with a bucket to use to relieve himself instead of being allowed to use the bathroom. Detectives served a search warrant at the house and uncovered “thousands of videos from a Ring camera” that “showed the teen locked inside the structure.” Ugh, they were filming him, too??
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The Ferriters were then arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse. WPEC reports that three other children living in the home were removed by Child Protective Services as part of the investigation.
The couple first appeared in court on Wednesday, where a judge set the couple’s bond at $50,000 each. He also ordered them not to have any contact with any of their children unless authorized by CPS. They have pleaded not guilty to the child abuse charges against them.
Here’s more on the awful story, from CBS Miami (below):
Wow. Such a sick, twisted, terrible situation.
We can only hope that the poor teenager can recover mentally from that awful, long-term ordeal.
[Image via CBS Miami/YouTube/Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office]
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