Two parents arrested after police found their child in a ‘makeshift cell’

KEARNS — A Utah couple is being accused of locking their teenage child in a padlocked closet and repeatedly physically abusing them for hours.

On Tuesday, Melissa Ann Gray, 25, and Travis Stacey Peterson, 49, were booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on a felony charge of aggravated child abuse – intentionally or knowingly, according to the police affidavit.

The Unified Police Department reported that officers responded to a child abuse case on Aug. 19, where the complainant said a teenager was “locked in a makeshift cell.”

According to the affidavit, officers found the child in “the hallway of the home, in an alcove looking like a closet under the stairs with gates affixed to the walls and locked with a padlock from the outside.”

Officers reported the victim was locked in the cell for about 24 hours, “around the clock,” after Gray, his stepmother, spanked the child in the butt for screaming in the house.

“(Gray)… told (the victim), ‘Bear your bum, bear your bum.’ Prior to being spanked,” the affidavit stated. “(The victim) reported being hungry, lonely and having to sleep curled up in the makeshift cells.”

A neighbor of the parents, who asked to be not identified, told KSL TV that the teen would not be seen for days and “could see that something wasn’t right,” calling the boy “pale” and “disoriented.”

The victim told police he was locked in another makeshift cell with a loft bed before being placed in the closet. He said that he “was locked under the loft bed for months and only let out when he would have to go to the bathroom.”

“(The victim) talked about a time he was desperate to get out of the cell to use the restroom. (The victim) was able to break out of the cell to use the bathroom because no one was responding to his pleas to get out,” the affidavit stated.

Police reported that Gray and Peterson did not see anything wrong “with putting (the victim) in a cell and locking it from the outside.” Gray told police that she “wanted (the victim) to see what it was like in a city and the real world.”

“While speaking to the father, (Peterson), he informed me he worked in health care and stated if he was arrested for child abuse he would lose his job,” the affidavit stated. Police asked Peterson to clarify why he would lose his job, and Peterson said, “the nation and world is cracking down on this sort of thing.”

According to the affidavit, Peterson believed he did nothing wrong and stated that the victim would be “returning into the cell” if he stayed at their home.

Police reported that the victim’s adult brother was also locked up in a makeshift cell when he was raised, to the point where he had to use his dresser drawer as a bathroom.

According to the affidavit, Gray was also booked on a class a misdemeanor charge of child abuse with injury – intentional or knowing.

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Child abuse resources:

• Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465). Resources are also available online: udvc.org. The statewide child abuse and neglect hotline is 1-855-323-DCFS (3237).

Help with Children

Those who feel stressed out with a child, who need a break or who feel like they need counseling or training can reach out to one of the following agencies:

• The Family Support Center has 15 locations throughout the state and offers a free crisis nursery for parents who have to keep appointments or who are stressed out. They also offer counseling and family mentoring. Call 801-955-9110 or visit familysupportcenter.org/contact.php for more information.
• Prevent Child Abuse Utah provides home visiting in Weber, Davis, and Box Elder counties. Parent Educators provide support, education, and activities for families with young children. Their statewide education team offers diverse trainings on protective factors, digital safety, bullying, and child sex trafficking. They are available for in-person or virtual trainings and offer free online courses for the community at pcautah.org.
• The Office of Home Visiting works with local agencies to provide home visits to pregnant women and young families who would like to know more about being parents. Home visitors are trained and can provide information about breastfeeding, developmental milestones, toilet training, nutrition, mental health, home safety, child development, and much more. Find out more at homevisiting.utah.gov.
• The Safe Haven law allows birth parents in Utah to safely and anonymously give up custody of their newborn child at any hospital in the state, with no legal consequences and no questions asked. The child’s mother can drop off the child, or the mother can ask someone else to do it for her. The newborns should be dropped off at hospitals that are open 24 hours a day. Newborns given up in this manner will be cared for by the hospital staff, and the Utah Division of Child and Family Services will find a home for the child. For more information, visit utahsafehaven.org or call the 24-hour hotline at 866-458-0058.