Utah Dad Who Chained His Son To A Bed Will Do 30 Days, But Not Until After Christmas

A 29-year-old Utah dad who chained his son to a bed because he couldn’t afford day care for the boy when he was at work will do 30 days in jail — but not until after Christmas, a judge decided Monday — even though prosecutors wanted Sammie Hodges to serve only house arrest.

The heartbreaking case highlights the high cost of child care in the United States, leaving many working parents near or below the poverty line in a dangerous dilemma. Do they attempt to work a low-paying full-time job, leaving them unable to afford care for a child? Or do they stay at home and accept government assistance while being allowed to act as parents to their kids?

In some states, a family of three at the poverty level will be forced to spend nearly 90 percent of their income on child care services.

According to his defense lawyers, that was the choice facing Hodges, and his answer was the wrong one — but not one that should leave him incarcerated.

Hodges himself admitted to Judge Brandon Maynard that leaving his 6-year-old son chained to a bed while he was at work was “a stupid thing I did,” the Logan Herald Journal reported.

The chain was lengthy enough that the boy could use a bathroom and was able to reach supplies of food and water.

Hodges was arrested in June after police received a tip that he had chained his son inside their home in Logan, Utah. He was charged with four misdemeanor counts of child abuse and, after a deal with prosecutors, pleaded guilty to only one misdemeanor count.

“This is an inappropriate way of childcare, there is no way around it,” said prosecuting attorney Jacob Gordon, who recommended that Maybard sentence the dad to 120 days of house arrest, during which he would be required to wear an ankle bracelet to monitor his movements.

But Maynard took it upon himself to order Hodges to jail for 30 days.

“My goal is not to undermine reunification efforts with your son, but rather to reinforce making good parenting decisions,” the judge told Hodges.

But the judge will allow Hodges to spend the Christmas holiday with his son, not requiring the dad’s monthlong sentence to begin until December 26. After his jail time, Hodges will serve 30 days of house arrest as well as 80 hours of community service.

The judge also allowed the dad to serve his jail time under a work release program, which allows Hodges to go to his job during the day, returning to jail after the work day is completed.

Maynard said he believed that any dad who chained his son to a bed deserved some degree of punishment.