Home>News Center>Life
         
 

Utah couple charged with abuse for allegedly chaining 12-year-old in basement
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-03-24 15:15

A couple who allegedly chained the man's 12-year-old son in the basement for two months _ freeing him only to eat and go to school _ has been charged with child abuse.

Sheriff's deputies were called to the couple's home after receiving a telephone complaint, said spokesman Sgt. Rosie Rivera. A sibling showed authorities a pair of handcuffs that he said were used to chain his brother in the basement, according to charging documents.

The abuse allegedly occurred between August and October.

Mark Gray, 40, and his wife Christina, 35, were being held on US$25,000 bail Tuesday.

The boy told authorities his father and stepmother kept him chained when he was not at school, and made him sleep on a small rug on the concrete floor. The boy said he was allowed to eat meals with the family, but wasn't given much food; deputies found a jar of peanut butter the boy had hidden.

Rivera said there were no indications of sexual abuse.

The boy has been living with a relative since Oct. 1; five other children have been living with a relative since the couple were charged Monday.

The delay in filing charges was due to the time it took for specialists to determine the degree of psychological injury to the boy, said Kent Morgan, a spokesman for the Salt Lake County district attorney's office.

A doctor determined the child suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and a disorder characterized by uncooperative and hostile behavior toward authority figures.

 
  Today's Top News     Top Life News
 

US urged to do more for peace across Straits

 

   
 

NASA: Salty sea covered part of Mars

 

   
 

Anti-China motion disrupts human rights talk

 

   
 

China urges U.S. not to fingerprint its citizens

 

   
 

Japan nixes WWII labourers' pay

 

   
 

And the Beijing Olympic mascot is...

 

   
  Mining the past for love
   
  Newly unearthed finds will enhance research
   
  Cell phones on campus prompt debate
   
  Woman happy she kills lover
   
  Onsen 'therapy
   
  Ethics and the little red envelope
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Feature  
  HK pop star Edison Chen punched by youngsters  
Advertisement