An Indiana couple has been charged with abandoning a 13-year-old boy they had adopted but later decided they no longer wanted to care for him.
Court documents said the 13-year-old was the oldest child of Richard and Patricia Heitz, WNDU reported. For the past six months, the documents say, the parents claim the boy was out of control and needed more help than they were willing to provide.
They’e been charged with two counts each of neglect of a dependent — abandoning or cruelly confining a dependent, Law&Crime reported. They allegedly forced the boy the live in a camper parked in the couple’s backyard for as much as 10 days at a time, in warm or cold weather with no heat or electricity.
According to a probably cause affidavit, the state Department of Child Services began investigating on July 5 after receiving a report that the boy was neglected and abused and that he and his young siblings often receiving “‘whoopings’ with belts and paddles on their buttocks.”
The teen told investigators he was cold at night but was given some blankets and that the camper had a bathroom, but he wasn’t allowed to use it, WDNU said. Instead, he was given plastic grocery bags to use.
Patricia Heitz reportedly told investigators she hadn’t bothered to seek help with therapy or medication for the boy and said that the one time they took him to a mental health hospital, she and her husband refused to pick up him up when he was discharged.
According to the documents, Heitz said the teen will never be welcomed back into their home.
