An 11-year-old in Taylorsville ended up knocking on a neighbor’s door asking to use the bathroom and saying they wanted to live there, according to police. That worried neighbor called for a welfare check. When officers showed up, they later reported finding the child crawling out from under a truck bed cover in a garage, with only a thin blanket and a shop knee pad to use as a pillow.
As reported by FOX 13, the child’s parents, 46-year-old Alysia Lynai McIntosh and 46-year-old Robert James McIntosh, were arrested Thursday and now face aggravated child abuse charges. Both are being held without bail. Investigators say the case began on Nov. 26, when a neighbor first requested a welfare check and later told police they saw the child in the garage for several hours without a coat. Police allege that at one point, Robert McIntosh brought the child back inside, then later returned home, and the child ended up back in the garage.
Aggravated child abuse under Utah law
Under Utah law, aggravated child abuse includes both inflicting and allowing serious physical injury to a child, and the severity of the charge depends on the accused person’s mental state. According to the Utah Code, aggravated child abuse is a second-degree felony if done intentionally or knowingly, a third-degree felony if done recklessly, and a class A misdemeanor if committed with criminal negligence (Utah Code §76-5-109.2).
Neighbors’ account and what officers found
Neighbors told officers the child had come to their home asking to use the bathroom and saying they did not want to go back home, which is what prompted the initial welfare check. When police looked inside the garage, they reported finding a bucket with a trash-bag liner and a toilet seat, next to the same thin blanket the child had been using. According to investigators, the child told detectives they were not allowed inside the house to use the bathroom.
Robert McIntosh later admitted to police that he had put the child in the garage, according to FOX 13, though he disputed how long the child had been there. He allegedly told officers that the goal was to teach the child “how to be homeless.”
What’s next
Taylorsville police say the investigation is still active. Both parents remain in custody, and the case will move forward through the county’s criminal process. As of the FOX 13 report, authorities had not yet released court dates or additional details.
