Nevada parents arrested after 11-year-old found in makeshift "jail cell" installed years ago

A Nevada couple was arrested after police were called to their home and found their 11-year-old child "being contained within a large metal enclosure," authorities said Wednesday. 

Misty Scanlan, 46, and Jeffery Scanlan,41, were taken into custody and each booked on one count of child abuse and neglect, the Henderson Police Department said in a statement. The arrest came after police arrived at the Scanlan home around 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday to respond to a truancy report from the school district. The school officer had arrived at the home after a child had been missing from school and could hear screams coming from the house, CBS affiliate KLAS-TV reported. The truant officer requested backup help from the police. 

It took the father 40 minutes to open the door for police when they arrived, KLAS reported, and once inside, the officers found an 11-year-old boy in a large enclosure with metal bars and locked doors," similar to a jail cell," according to the report. 

The boy, who was wearing a diaper and had feces smeared throughout the enclosure had "severe Autism spectrum disorder," the father told police, and the cage was allegedly used to control his outbursts. There were three other children in the home at the time. One of the children told police the enclosure had been in the house for two years, KLAS reported, but the father said it had been there for six years. 

Barely any furniture was in the home and feces was smeared on the walls in other bedrooms police said in their report, KLAS reported. The mother told police she tried to clean the bedrooms and cage every week but it had been a while. 

Child protective services took the three other children into custody. The 11-year-old was sent to the hospital, KLAS reported. 

After the Scanlans were booked into Henderson County Detention Center, both were released on a $5,000 bond the next day according to online court records. They are scheduled to appear in court in May. 

In:
• Nevada
• Child Abuse

Cara Tabachnick

Cara Tabachnick is a news editor and journalist at CBSNews.com. Cara began her career on the crime beat at Newsday. She has written for Marie Claire, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. She reports on justice and human rights issues. Contact her at [email protected]