In a disturbing discovery, a 13-year-old child was found padlocked in what has been described as a makeshift cell, situated beneath the stairs of a Kearns home. The Unified Police Department made the shocking find on August 27, resulting in the arrest of two individuals, Travis Stacey Peterson, age 49, and Melissa Ann Gray, age 41. According to ABC4, Peterson and Gray have been charged with aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony, and Gray faces an additional misdemeanor charge for child abuse with injury.
As reported by FOX13, the boy had endured confinement in an alcove under the stairs for about 24 hours before officers arrived. Locked in a makeshift cell made from a loft bed for months, the 13-year-old was only permitted bathroom breaks. After his arrest, Peterson, who admitted to working in the healthcare industry, expressed fears over losing his job due to the crackdown on child abuse, saying, "the nation and world are cracking down on this sort of thing."
Furthermore, officers on the scene learned of a harrowing history within the household. The victim's 22-year-old brother had similarly faced seclusion, being forced to defecate in his dresser drawer, as per FOX13. Both Peterson and Gray are being held without bail.
As obtained by KUTV, Gray, and Peterson were booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of second-degree felony aggravated child abuse, intentionally or knowingly. The case draws a grim parallel to a similar situation in Weber County involving the death of a 12-year-old boy named Gavin Peterson. Although no relation has been confirmed, the authorities in West Haven were unable to intervene before Gavin’s fatal outcome, with his family members now facing charges in connection to his death.
