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SALT LAKE CITY — The parents of a young Cache County boy were arrested earlier this month after police say they locked the child inside a room for months with no bed or carpet and forced him to sleep naked and urinate on the floor.
Craig Boersma, 37, and Paulette Boersma, 29, of Hyde Park, were arrested Sept. 6 and booked into the Cache County Jail for investigation of child abuse. They posted bail later that night. As of Tuesday, no formal charges have been filed, but police say the investigation is continuing.
The 7-year-old boy and his younger sibling have been removed from the home and placed under state protective custody, according to North Park Police Chief Kim Hawkes.
On Tuesday, two search warrant affidavits unsealed in 1st District Court reveal details about the investigation.
North Park police received a report from the Division of Child and Family Services that a 7-year-old boy "was being withheld meals by the parents and that the child had not appeared to have gained any weight in a year. It was also reported that (the boy) was left in the same clothes for a long period of time," according to the warrant.
On Sept. 5, officers went to the house to interview the boy.
"(He) described being locked in a room with no carpet, padding, bedding, and no pillow for months," the warrant states. "It was learned that he has suicidal and homicidal thoughts. (The boy) was currently thinking of harming his family along with himself."
The boy was taken to the Children's Justice Center where a more in-depth interview was conducted.
"(It) was disclosed that he had to sleep on the floor in the bedroom with no clothes completely naked with one blanket. He disclosed that the room had no carpet due to he would eat the carpet and pee on the carpet. (The boy) disclosed sometimes he is locked in the room for an entire day and won't get fed that day either. When he is in trouble that his parents put him in an ice cold shower, telling him, 'I hope you remember how this feels,'" the warrant states.
When Paulette Boersma was interviewed, she told detectives that "there is a camera system that is a live feed that allows them to communicate with a speaker back and forth with (the boy) when he is in the room. Paulette stated that (the boy) has to wave his arms at the camera and that is the sign that they will communicate with him with the speaker and microphone," according to the affidavit.
Some of the items seized by police during a search of the home include laptops, cameras, a "metal lock" and a "magnetic door alarm," both from the boy's room.
Hawkes said there has been no evidence that the sibling was abused. He said officers were still gathering evidence and planned to meet with the Cache County Attorney's Office to discuss potential charges.
