Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LOGAN, Utah (AP) — A Utah father will serve 30 days in jail and 30 days of house arrest for chaining his 7-year-old son to a bed while the man was at work.
State Judge Brandon Maynard insisted on jail time Monday despite a recommendation from prosecutors that the 29-year-old Logan man only serve house arrest.
The judge said he didn't want to keep father and son apart, though.
"My goal is not to undermine reunification efforts with your son, but rather to reinforce making good parenting decisions," Maynard said.
The father was charged in June with four counts of child abuse and pleaded guilty to one count in November as part of a deal with prosecutors.
His son wasn't injured by a heavy chain padlocked to his ankle in June and had access to snacks, water and a bathroom, police said. Police acting on a tip found the boy in a middle-class neighborhood in Logan, a city of about 49,000 people 80 miles north of Salt Lake City.
Defense attorney David Perry said the man chained the boy to keep him from running around the neighborhood because he couldn't afford day care.
Prosecutor Jacob Gordon said his actions absolutely rose to the level of child abuse, according to The Herald Journal (http://bit.ly/1waQyek).
"This is an inappropriate way of child care; there is no way around it," Gordon said.
The Associated Press is withholding the father's name to avoid identifying the child, who is in foster care.
The man was also sentenced to 80 hours of community service, and will have to take anger management and parenting classes.
He will be released to go to work during his jail sentence.
The father was order to report to jail on Dec. 26 after spending the holiday with his son.
___
Information from: The Herald Journal, http://www.hjnews.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
