"John" BOONE - 10 yo - Port Charlotte FL

Port Charlotte FL ---- The parents of a 10-year-old boy who was reported missing and
later found after a massive search by deputies have been charged with
child abuse.The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office says they found
deplorable conditions inside the bedroom of the southwest Florida boy
whose family reported him missing on Saturday.Detectives looked
for the boy with search dogs and via helicopter. He was found sleeping in a cabinet
under a master bedroom sink.




Investigators say Thomas Anthony Boone and Kimberly Sue Boone kept
the boy locked in his bedroom, allowing him to leave only when going to
school or when the family went away.Authorities say the boy was
made to sleep in a urine soaked bed and subject to malicious punishment.Both
suspects have been released after posting $15,000 bond each.
* * * *
Two Port Charlotte parents are facing child abuse charges for
allegedly keeping their son locked up in his bedroom since December of
2009. The case came to light after a five hour search for Thomas and
Kimberly Boone 10 year old son. The boy was eventually found in the
cabinet underneath the sink in the master bedroom bathroom.
Detective say condititions inside the house were deplorable.
They found a urine soaked mattress in the boys room with feces spread
through the room. Investigators allege the parents rubbed the boys
faces in the urine and feces as punishment. The only time he was
allowed out of his room was for school and family outings.
Investigators say the boy told them he'd only been given small amounts
of water to drink, peanut butter sandwiches to eat and he had fallen
asleep in the sink cabinet looking for food.
After getting cleaned up and checked out at the hospital, the boy is
now being sheltered by DCF. Thomas and Kimberly Boone each face three
counts of aggravated child abuse. They were released from jail after
posting $1,500 bail.
* * * *
Charlotte County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit detectives arrested the
parents of a 10-year-old boy who was reported missing Saturday and later
found that afternoon following a massive five hour search by deputies,
K9 and a helicopter. The boy was located by a
crime scene technician sleeping in a cabinet under a master bathroom
sink in the home at 754 Seabold Ave., Port Charlotte.
When detectives arrived at the scene, they found deplorable conditions
in the boys bedroom that led to his parents arrest.Investigators
said the boy came out of his room looking for food and then hid from
his parents.According to a sheriff’s office release:Detectives
said Thomas Anthony Boone, 38, and Kimberly Sue Boone, 39, committed
three counts of aggravated child abuse by knowingly and willfully
abusing, torturing, maliciously punishing and willfully and unlawfully
caging the child victim. The child was kept alone in his
bedroom since December of 2009, only allowed to come out when he went to
school or when the family went away. The child was locked
in his bedroom and due to this, he urinated and defecated on the floor
in his room and bed. The child was made to sleep in the
urine soaked bed and as a punishment had his face rubbed in the urine
and feces.The search began Saturday after the boy’s father
called the sheriff’s office at 11 a.m. to report his son missing and
that he was last seen about 10:25 a.m.
The search began immediately in the neighborhood while detectives
were called to assist in gathering information inside the home and pass
along to the search teams that might help locate the boy. When
detectives began walking through the residence, they saw where the boy
slept. In his bedroom, detectives said was a strong odor
of feces and urine; it was bare with no rug on the floor, no toys in the
room, no clothing or lights. The only thing in the room
was a box spring and mattress that smelled of urine. On
the floor, detectives said there were numerous areas where you could see
human feces and puddles of urine. The door handle to the boys room was reversed and the lock was facing
into the hallway; a latch to secure the door was on the hallway side of
the door.When the crime scene technician photographer
found the boy, she said he appeared scared, malnourished and tired. The
boy told her he had fallen asleep in the cabinet after coming out of
his room to look for food. The boy said he has been locked
in his room most of the time since December and was only allowed a
small drink of water and peanut butter sandwiches. He also
said he was very afraid of his step mother, Kimberly Boone, who married
his father last year. The boy was taken by EMS to Peace
River Regional Medical Center and cleared after getting a shower and
food. The boy then met with detectives, a sheriff’s office
forensic child interviewer and representatives of the Department of
Children & Families. Following the interview, DCF took
the boy into custody and he has been sheltered.Detectives
then met with Thomas and Kimberly Boone separately; they developed
probable cause and charged both early Sunday morning with three counts
each of aggravated child abuse. They were transported to
the Charlotte County Jail; both posted $15,000 bonds and were released.

For the first time, the public is hearing from a family member of an
abused 10-year-old Port Charlotte boy.
She said her nephew would not have lived through the summer if his
parents weren't arrested after allegedly leaving him locked in his room,
with little food, and his own urine and feces everywhere.
That little boy was taken out of his father and step-mothers home
this weekend - something the boy's aunt says should've happened months
ago.
"I don't think he would've lived through the summer had he not had
the instinct to hide - it was out of pure fear and survival that he
hid."
Laura Tywater is the boy's aunt. She said in December her mother
called the Department of Children and Families to tell them her grandson
was being abused in his home.
"My mother was the one that saw everything first hand."
What did she see?"
"An absolute barren bedroom, no lights, a mattress - a bare mattress,
no blankets, no covers, no sheets. I think prisoners get better
treatment than that."
Reports said the 10-year-old was only let out to go to school. He was
forced to go to the bathroom in his room and sleep in it, and as
punishment - his face was rubbed in his urine and feces.
Deputies said his father, Thomas Boone, and step-mother, Kimberly
Boone, only fed him peanut butter sandwiches and water. Tywater said her
nephew told her he drank out of the toilet - too afraid to make noise
by turning the faucet on.
"He was 50 pounds. He's a 10-year-old boy."
Her question to DCF - why did it take nearly 7 months for the child
to be removed from the home, only after he was reported missing?
"It's heartbreaking. It's protecting almost the parents as opposed to
the child who was the one who needed the voice and needed the
protection."
DCF is still investigating this case and will not comment on why it
took so long to get this boy out of the home.

The 10-year-old boy who was reportedly locked in his bedroom and forced
to sleep in his own bodily waste will remain in protective custody, a judge ordered Tuesday.
Judge Peter Bell granted a petition allowing the Department of Children and Families to maintain
oversight of the child until a suitable home is found.
The boy's father, Thomas Anthony Boone, sat silently in the courtroom as his attorney accepted the order
and waived his client's right to a trial on the matter.
Boone, 38, and his wife, 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 inside his room.
Authorities said they uncovered the "deplorable" living conditions Saturday while
searching for the boy, who had been reported missing after he slipped
out of his room and hid from his parents.
Detectives searched the home in the 700 block of Seabold
Avenue and found that the child's bedroom had no furniture aside from a
soiled box spring mattress. The bare concrete floor was also covered in
urine and feces, the Sheriff's Office reported.
The boy, who was found sleeping in the master
bathroom sink cabinet, told investigators he had been living in the
locked bedroom with limited provisions since December, according to an rrest report.
Sheriff Bill Cameron said detectives were able to verify that the boy attended a
local elementary school through May. School officials could not be reached for comment.
A DCF spokeswoman said the agency had investigated an abuse complaint at the home earlier this
year, but she would not discuss the case, citing confidentiality laws.
The agency will recommend placing the boy with his grandmother, as investigators were unable to
locate the biological mother.
Thomas and Kimberly Boone, who also attended Tuesday's
hearing, were released from the Charlotte County jail on $15,000 bail.
Per court order, neither can not have contact with the boy. They declined comment Tuesday.
A review hearing is set for Thursday morning.

The 10-year-old boy who was reportedly locked in his bedroom in filthy
conditions will live with his paternal grandmother, according to details
released Thursday,
Lawyers for the Department of Children and Families said the agency
had completed a review of the grandmother's home following Tuesday's
shelter hearing for the child.The boy's father, Thomas Anthony
Boone, attended the proceeding in tan jail clothes, after he was taken
into custody Wednesday by a bail bondsman.Boone, 38, and his
wife, Kimberly Sue Boone, 39, were charged Sunday with three counts of
aggravated child abuse.Authorities said they uncovered the
"deplorable" living conditions last weekend while searching for the boy,
who had been reported missing after he slipped out of his room and hid
from his parents.Detectives searched the Port Charlotte home in
the 700 block of Seabold Avenue and found that the child's bedroom had
no furniture aside from a soiled boxspring mattress.The boy, who
was found sleeping in the master bathroom sink cabinet, told
investigators he had been living in the locked bedroom with limited
provisions since December, according to an arrest report.Kimberly
Boone, who also attended Thursday's hearing, declined comment
afterward.The couple are set for arraignment Aug. 16.

The Port Charlotte couple accused of abusing their 10 year old son pleaded not guilty in a Charlotte County courtroom Monday.

Thomas and Kimberly Boone both face three counts of child abuse in the case.

They are both accused of locking Thomas' 10-year-old son in a filthy room and only allowing him to go to school.

The boy, who weighed 55 pounds, told deputies he
was locked in a small dark room for six months and was only given small
amounts of water and an occasional peanut butter sandwich.

The case is set for case management on November 1st.

The boy is now living with his grandmother.

Thomas Boone and his wife are both accused of holding a 10-year-old boy prisoner inside a dark, filthy room where he was surrounded by his own waste and had little to eat or drink. Monday, he spoke out about those allegations.That 10 year-old boy was held prisoner in a dark room and forced to live in his own feces and urine, according to officials with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office.On Monday, for the first time, Boone talked about the heinous allegations against him."It's been rough. That's all I got to say, it's been rough," Boone said.Back in June, Charlotte County deputies arrested Boone and his wife Kimberly after they discovered what they called a horrible case of abuse and neglect going on inside the Port Charlotte home.Detectives say the boy lived inside a cage in his bedroom for months with no light and in his own waste. Officials said the boy had nearly starved to death as well.Thomas, who made an appearance in court Monday, isn't allowed to see or speak to his son - who now lives with his paternal grandmother.But we asked him is there was anything he would like to say to his child."I can't say anything to him or they'll hold me liable for that," Boone responded.Kimberly Boone, the child's step-mom, wouldn't speak to the media. She kept silent and stone-faced as she walked out of the same courtroom.When Boone was asked how long he kept his son locked in the room he replied, "I'm done. I'm done."The Boones have pled not guilty.A trial date hasn't been set and both sides still need to interview witnesses - including that 10 year-old boy.