HENDERSON, Nev. (TCD) — Police recently arrested the parents of an autistic boy who officers reportedly found confined to an enclosure this week.
On April 23, shortly after 10 a.m., officers with the Henderson Police Department and the Clark County School District Police Department responded to a home on Silverton Drive to perform a welfare check on an 11-year-old who had failed to show up to school. According to an arrest report reviewed by KLAS-TV, a truancy officer had previously tried knocking on the door. No one responded, but the truancy officer allegedly heard a child scream and the rattling of a gate from inside.
When police arrived, 41-year-old Jeffery Scanlan reportedly answered the door after 40 minutes and explained that his children hadn’t been to school because they were ill. According to KLAS, officers asked to see the children, and Scanlan led them inside.
Police allegedly discovered the 11-year-old boy “contained within a large metal enclosure,” which was “similar to a jail cell.” Officers reportedly observed “inhospitable living conditions,” and the residence was in “extreme disarray and smelled of feces.”
According to KLAS, the boy was wearing only a diaper, and officers noticed feces on the floors and walls. Scanlan reportedly told officials his son has “severe autism spectrum disorder.”
KLAS reports that three other children were in the house. Jeffery Scanlan’s wife, 46-year-old Misty Scanlan, reportedly arrived home from work as police were there.
According to a report obtained by KLAS, law enforcement officials noticed one bedroom had just a mattress on the floor, and the other had no furniture. The rooms had exterior locks that didn’t open from inside.
Jeffery Scanlan reportedly said the 11-year-old victim was “big and strong,” was sometimes aggressive, and punched holes in the wall. Additionally, the boy had allegedly tried to escape to the neighbors’ homes.
The child’s father reportedly said the boy attends school and “does well,” but he “struggles often at home.”
According to KLAS, the father said the 11-year-old “prefers” being confined and sleeps in it on a couch. Scanlan also reportedly told officers the cage-like enclosure contains two doors, one locked all the time and the other tied with a string since the child “has not figured out knots yet.”
The father allegedly admitted that someone would have to let the child out if there was ever an emergency.
During an interview with police, one of the children reportedly said the enclosure had been in the house for around two years, but Scanlan later said it had been there for six.
According to KLAS, Misty Scanlan and two children said they attempted to clean the enclosure and the bedrooms weekly but had yet to do so in several weeks.
Jeffery and Misty Scanlan reportedly told police another one of their kids also has autism and often escapes, so they lock her in her room to sleep. They also allegedly said they duct-tape a shirt over her diaper to prevent her from grabbing feces when the parents don’t change her.
Police arrested Misty and Jeffery Scanlan and booked them into the Henderson Detention Center on one count each of child abuse/neglect.
The 11-year-old boy was transported to a local hospital for treatment, and Child Protective Services took custody of the other kids.
According to court records obtained by KLAS, Jefferey and Misty Scanlan posted bail. They are scheduled to appear in court on May 14.
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