Utah Couple Padlocked 5-Year-Old Son In Basement, Force-Fed Carrots Until His Skin Turned Orange

A couple from Utah, identified as Clarissa Anne and Brett Parker Tobiasson, has been arrested for locking up their 5-year-old adopted son in the basement. The boy’s horrible condition did not end there as it was learned that he was also forced to eat lots of carrots that his skin already turned “orange.”

Evidence shows that the kid, who is 6-years-old now, was locked in a small room without light. There was no window and the door has a reverse doorknob so it can be locked from outside of the room. The boy was confined there for up to 12 hours per day, the Washington Post reported.

The parents usually send their son to bed at 7 p.m. and the kid was only “freed” from his basement confinement at 7 a.m. the next day. The room only measured 10 feet by 10 feet, and it only has a mattress and a tiny carpet. In one part of the wall, there is a hole where the kid hid his soiled clothes since he was not permitted to use the bathroom.

What’s more, the child was forced to eat a certain amount of carrots everyday. He was instructed to consume all of it at a set time so he can drink or eat regular food. If the boy has leftover carrots or failed to eat everything at the given time, the orange root vegetable was saved and given again to him later as his next meal.

The kid has been going through this ordeal for a long time before help came on June 12. The police from Utah County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of child abuse in Eagle Mountain and with their assistance, the agents from the Department of Child and Family Services removed three children (the victim, his 2-year-old brother and 2-month-old sister) from the Tobiasson household.

In the press release posted on the Utah County Sheriff Office’s website, it stated that Clarissa Anne and Brett Parker Tobiasson were charged with neglect, child abuse, and serious physical injury.

After her arrest, it was reported that Clarissa Anne told police she did not realize it is not permissible to lock kids in rooms. As for forcing her son to eat carrots, she allegedly told a friend that it was because the kid does not like them.

Following the rescue, the couple’s son was immediately brought to a medical facility. While being examined, the nurse noticed that the boy has an “orangey tint” to his skin. Witnesses said that this could be because he was only fed carrots by his cruel adoptive parents.

Finally, the Tobiasson couple is set to appear in court on Sept. 14.

[Featured Image by Brett Tobiasson/Facebook]