By Jason Witz
The Ledger
CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — For months, a 10-year-old boy reportedly remained in his locked bedroom, surviving on peanut butter sandwiches and water.
According to Sheriff’s Office reports, he had no toys or clean clothes. His mattress was soaked with urine, the bare floors covered in feces. A storm shutter sealed the window, blocking all sunlight.
There was no escape, except when he went to school or the family left.
Authorities said they uncovered the conditions Saturday while searching for the boy, who had been reported missing after he slipped out of his room and hid.
Thomas Anthony Boone, 38, and Kimberly Sue Boone, 39, were charged Sunday with three counts of aggravated child abuse after an investigation concluded the Port Charlotte couple “willfully abused, tortured” and “caged” the boy.
Both were released from the Charlotte County Jail on $15,000 bail.
“Everyone cannot believe this was happening,” said Bob Carpenter, Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.
The boy told sheriff’s detectives he had been living in the bedroom with limited provisions since December.
Hungry and scared, the boy got out of the room Saturday morning to find food and crawled under his parents’ master bathroom sink cabinet in fear of his stepmother, Kimberly Boone, according to an arrest report.
By 11 a.m., Thomas Anthony Boone called the Sheriff’s Office to report his son missing.
An extensive air and ground search ensued, with more than 20 investigators.
Detectives searched the home and found that the child’s bedroom had no furniture aside from the soiled box spring mattress, which the boy later told investigators he had to sleep on as punishment.
The door handle to the bedroom was reversed and the lock was facing into the hallway, with a latch to secure it, Carpenter said.
A crime scene photographer found the boy sleeping in the bathroom cabinet nearly five hours after the search started.
He was taken to Peace River Regional Medical Center and later was cleared upon getting a shower and food.
He was then placed in the custody of the Department of Children and Families.
Copyright 2010 Lakeland Ledger Publishing Corporation