UNNAMED BOY - 9 yo (2010) - / Charged: Father and stepmother, Gregory Jean and Samantha Joy Davis - Orlando, FL/Jonesboro, GA

Pictured: The father and step-mother who 'hid 13-year-old boy behind linen closet for four years' as neighbors reveal couple was so nice they never suspected a thing

• Boy, 13, found living behind a linen closet at his father's home in Jonesboro, Georgia on Saturday
  
• Went missing four years ago after going to visit his father, 37-year-old Gregory Jean, who 'refused to give him back' 
  
• Unnamed boy downloaded a cellphone app to contact his mother this week, saying he was being beaten by his father  
  
• Jean and stepmother Samantha Joy Davis, 42, to appeared in court Sunday on charges of false imprisonment, obstruction and cruelty to a child
  
• In court, it was revealed that Davis struck the boy with a stick
  
  

By Nick Fagge In Jonesboro, Georgia For Mailonline and Ashley Collman for MailOnline and Sophie Jane Evans for MailOnline
Published: 09:02 EST, 30 November 2014  |  Updated: 13:29 EST, 30 November 2014


The father and step-mother of a 13-year-old boy held captive inside a false wall appeared in court this morning to answer charges of child cruelty.

Gregory Jean, 37, and Samantha Joy Davis, 42, are both charged with the false imprisonment and cruelty against his son at their home in Jonesboro, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia.

The boy went missing four years ago, when he went to visit his father in Georgia. He was found this weekend after downloaded a texting app on his phone to reach out to his mother in Florida, writing that he had been beaten by his father.  

Davis is accused of striking the youngster with a stick causing him physical harm and imprisoning him in a hidden section of a garage at the family home. Jean Senior is accused of cruelty towards his son - that is parental neglect by failing to protect his son from physical violence and imprisoning the boy in an attic section of the garage.
 





Captors: Father Gregory Jean, 37 (left), and stepmother Samantha Joy Davis, 42 (right), appeared in court Sunday morning on charges of false imprisonment, obstruction and cruelty to a child after Jean's son was found hidden behind a linen closet at their home. Three other minors were also arrested at the house where the boy was found

Reunited: This 13-year-old  boy is pictured being reunited with his Florida-based mother after he was found imprisoned behind a false wall in the linen closet of his father's Georgia home four years after going missing

Davis spoke only to answer her name and appeared downcast as she sat in court in green county jail clothes.

Jean Senior appeared more forthright and told the court he was originally from Haiti but was now a U.S. citizen. He works for TV cable company Comcast, he told the court. He was wearing the Clayton County jail regulation orange fatigues.

Judge Richard Brown refused both suspects bail and they were remanded to Clayton County Jail until their next appearance on December 9th.


First appearance: Jean (left) and David (right) take the stand in Clayton County, Georgia court on Sunday. They were remanded

Neighbors in the Atlanta, Georgia suburb where a 13-year-old was found living behind a linen closet on Saturday, have spoken out to say they saw the boy often and never knew he was being held against his will. 

Jean's neighbor's in the Atlanta suburb of  Jonesboro were shocked to hear that the boy was a prisoner. They say they often saw him outside the house, sometimes doing yard work. 

'It was a shock to all of us. They were really nice people, very open they said come over anytime you want,' neighbor Julie Pizarro, who lives across the street told WXIA. 'The young man didn't seem under any distress. I guess you never know what's behind closed doors.'

'Gosh, it was right under our nose,' neighbor Akono Ekundayo said. 'We could have done something.'   



The boy was reported missing to child welfare authorities in 2010 after he went to visit his father and he refused to return him to his mother, according to WSB-TV. 

However, his mother never contacted the police, potentially because she is an immigrant and was unfamiliar with the system, it is said. But after receiving her son's text this weekend, she immediately called 911.

Following her call, officers arrived at Jean's home at 2am on Saturday. They reportedly questioned the house's uncooperative occupants for several minutes before locating the victim in a linen closet in the garage.


The boy repeatedly thanked officers for rescuing him, according to reports.

In heart-wrenching scenes on Saturday morning, the victim was pictured clinging on to his weeping mother, who had traveled to Georgia, as another female relative sobbed uncontrollably nearby in an emotional reunion. 

Sargent Joanne Southerland, of Clayton County Police Department, told the news station: 'We came here to the home and were able to get inside and talk to the people inside.

'After several minutes of denying that the child was here and that there was ever any assault or anything like that, we were able to find him in the linen closet.'

Arrests: The boy went missing in 2010, when he went to see his father and never returned. His mother allegedly never informed police since she is an immigrant and unfamiliar with the system. Above, the house where he was held captive

No clue: Neighbors in the Jonesboro neighborhood said they often saw the boy outside the house, and never thought he was being held prisoner

Investigation: CID officers are pictured arriving at the house on Saturday morning. An investigation is ongoing

Officer Daniel Day added: 'I just couldn't believe it. We found him, we saw him. To say it was a great feeling is an understatement. He just couldn't thank us enough, he was overjoyed we had found him.'

Police have now requested a search warrant for the property. A spokesman said they still have a lot of unanswered questions, including how the boy was imprisoned for so long without intervention.

The boy, whose legal custody is believed to lie with his mother, is expected to remain under the protection of the Division of Family and Children Services for the next couple of days. 

An investigation is ongoing.





Proud: Police Chief Greg Porter (left) said: 'The police department did an excellent job coming out here and responding to the 911 emergency call.' Right, one of the boy's relatives weeps after being reunited with him

Scene: Police have now requested a search warrant for the property in Duke Court (pictured). A spokesman said they still have a lot of unanswered questions, including how the boy was imprisoned for so long