Guardians of teen arrested after he alleges torture, beatings
This is the neighborhood in Silverdale in which a 13-year-old boy says his older brother and sister-in-law tortured him.
BREMERTON, Wash. -- A 13-year-old boy’s older brother and his sister-in-law -- his guardians -- have been arrested after the teen said they kept him in their home and routinely tortured him by hitting him with a bat, cutting him and even driving a nail through his palm.
Bremerton police found the 13-year-old sleeping on a city park bench late Friday night, and observed physical injuries that required immediate medical attention, the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Monday.
After being taken to a hospital, the teenager “related a lengthy, detailed complaint involving physical abuse, torture, imprisonment and mistreatment at the hands of his older brother and his brother’s wife,” the sheriff’s office said.
The boy said the two routinely beat him with a baseball bat, sliced his skin with a heated knife and once drove a nail through one of his hands, the sheriff's office said. He added that the torture began earlier this summer and continued until two weeks ago, when the boy managed the escape the house in Silverdale.
The teenager told detectives that his arms and legs would be taped to a chair and that he was struck in the head, torso and legs with a baseball bat or a metal bar. He also said they placed his hand in a bench vise and drove a nail through his hand with a hammer. He also said he was forced to strip and was placed inside a portable dog kennel for two days without food or water.
The boy said that two weeks ago, he was able to remove duct tape from his mouth and chew the tape that bound his hands together. He was then able to escape. He lived on the streets of Bremerton for about two weeks before being found by Bremerton police.
A search warrant was served on the house and "evidence substantiating the teen’s allegations was located and seized," the sheriff's office said.
The two adults were arrested Saturday and booked into jail on several charges, including assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal mistreatment.
On Monday, the couple made an initial appearance in Kitsap County District Court and were remanded on a charge of unlawful imprisonment. Bail was set at $500,000 each.
The investigation is continuing, the sheriff's office said.