Iowa warrants detail abuse against teen with special needs
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PLEASANT HILL, Iowa (KCCI) — A Des Moines couple faces charges after police said their 16-year-old son with special needs was zip-tied to a chair. Court documents detail abuses the boy suffered.
Court documents show the incident happened Feb. 22. According to police, 48-year-old Jennifer Marie Ryan brought her 16-year-old son to work with her at Smith Automotive in Pleasant Hill. She then zip-tied the boy to a chair by his left ankle and pants belt loop in a chair adjacent to her desk.
Court documents show Pleasant Hill Police were contacted and the boy was removed by Iowa Department of Human Services officials and transported to Blank Children’s Hospital. The boy, identified as J.R. in court documents, was examined there and diagnosed with severe malnutrition, weighing only 78 pounds when he was admitted.
“Further investigation found that J.R. was routinely confined to his bedroom for several months and on occasion restrained to his bed frame by zip ties. He was not allowed to leave his room or use the restroom at night without permission or without escort by other family members. An alarm was placed on his door to alert his family if he attempted to leave to use the restroom. Permission to use the restroom was often denied necessitating him to urinate out his bedroom window or to wet the bed. As punishment for wetting the bed his mattress and blankets would be removed and he would be required to sleep on the floor,” court documents show.
The boy was not permitted to eat breakfast, according to arrest warrants. He usually ate lunch or dinner, which consisted of leftovers from the day before.
“J.R. would sneak food when he could and hide it in his bedroom. If the food was discovered, he was punished by being deprived a meal. He also endured physical abuse often being struck in the face or on the head with a wooden back scratcher or repeatedly thrown to the floor,” court documents show.
According to police, the boy had several non-healing abrasions and bruises from the abuse and bone deformities to one of his feet, believed to have been caused by wearing shoes that were too small for extended periods of time.
“After the COVID pandemic, J.R. was brought to work on days when J.R.’s father also had to work. While at work with Jennifer, J.R. was zip-tied to the chair for the duration of Jennifer’s 8-hour work schedule, deprived of water and not allowed to use the restroom,” court documents show.
Jennifer Ryan, and her husband 47-year-old Richard Joe Ryan, are charged with one count of first-degree kidnapping. They were booked into the Polk County Jail Monday morning and are awaiting an initial court appearance.
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