Couple adopted boy and kept him locked up in a room for a decade, Texas cops say

Mitchell Willetts, The Charlotte Observer on Jun 18, 2025

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A Texas couple is accused of keeping their adopted son locked up and without access to a bathroom for a decade, police say.

A 51-year-old man and his 52-year-old wife were arrested after officers searched their El Paso home on June 11, following allegations that their 15-year-old son was being “neglected and confined,” police said in a June 16 news release.

McClatchy News is not identifying the couple to protect the identity of the child.

The husband was, until recently, an employee of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, the El Paso Times reported. In the wake of the allegations against him, he was “immediately placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an Internal Affairs investigation,” the sheriff’s office told the outlet.

However, he resigned on Monday, June 16, the sheriff’s office told KFOX.

According to investigators, the boy said “he had been routinely locked in his bedroom for extended periods.” He was let out for dinner but “immediately” forced to return after eating, police said.

The boy was not allowed to use the restroom, so he went to the bathroom in his room, police said.

He told investigators he had been treated like this for 10 years, police said.

His parents would lock him up no matter how he behaved, police said, but he was beaten if he did misbehave, KFOX reported. He told police he once got in trouble for buying a cellphone to get help, and that he had paid for it using his parent’s money, according to investigators.

His room was sparse, covered in urine stains and with few furnishings beyond a bed and an empty desk, police said, the station reported. The doorknob to his room was installed so that it could only be opened from the outside, police said.

The parents were arrested June 13 on charges of unlawful restraint, and their bonds were set at $100,000 each, records show. Both made bail and have been released.

“Due to the serious nature of the allegations, the case was referred to the Crimes Against Children Unit for further investigation,” police said.

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