Couple locked their son in makeshift jail cells for over a year, charges say

SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah ( ABC4 ) — A couple was charged on Friday with felony child abuse after they allegedly locked their 13-year-old son in makeshift jail cells at their Kearns home for over a year.

Melissa Gray, 41, and Travis Stacey Peterson, 49, have both been charged with aggravated child abuse (second-degree felony) and child abuse (class-A misdemeanor).

On Aug. 18, Unified Police responded to the couple’s home to conduct a child abuse investigation. While walking through the home, officers saw the couple’s 13-year-old son in a hallway pantry, which was outfitted with a metal and wood gate and a lock.

Gray — the boy’s stepmother — told police that the boy had been there for the past 24 hours.

Investigators interviewed the boy, who reportedly yelled and said he was not going to get dinner. The boy also said that before the pantry cell was built, he slept in a cell with five locks on it in his bedroom. He said that cell was so small that there was no room to spread out, and that he had to sleep in a curled-up position.

He told police that cell had been built around a year and a half prior. He reportedly said that he thought the cell was a joke at first, but realized his parents were serious when they only gave him three bathroom breaks, breakfast, and dinner.

The boy claimed he had to write things down on paper to “make requests,” and that he eventually stopped receiving the paper. He told police he felt sad and lonely, and that he was only visited by the family’s puppy.

Gray and Peterson told police they had pulled their son out of school and that Gray was homeschooling him.

“Child abuse can be manifest with both physical and emotional abuse. Parenting can be difficult, but there are acceptable ways to raise your children, and those usually focus on loving and caring for your child,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill stated in a press release. “Community resources are available for parents struggling with their responsibility for their children. Please reach out and ask for help if you need it.”

Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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