A Tennessee man and woman were arrested last week and charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect and child endangerment after law enforcement found evidence the couple had been locking a 7-year-old boy with autism in a storage trunk with urine-soaked blankets and a pillow.
Carter County deputies were assisting the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on Thursday as they served a warrant for the arrest of Sean David Moody, 39, who was accused of abusing his developmentally disabled sister. He was taken into custody on a charge of abuse of a vulnerable adult, TBI said, while state agents and the deputies served a search warrant on the home.
“It was discovered while conducting the search of the residence that living conditions were unsanitary,” Carter County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Preston White said. “Multiple electrical wall outlets contained exposed wiring, and animal and human feces was discovered on the floor coverings.”
“Information obtained during the initial investigation led to the discovery of a brown colored storage trunk in the living room area,” White said. “The trunk contained urine-soaked blankets, a pillow, half-eaten pizza, and clothing that contained a substance consistent with blood.”
The investigators learned that the 7-year-old boy, who was non-verbal, would be locked into the trunk with food.
Deputies notified the Department of Children’s Services and arrested Sean Moody and Mikki Dee Moody, 36, on the child abuse charges.
Both Moodys were booked into the Carter County Detention Center, and Mikki Moody was later released after posting a $75,000 bond. Sean Moody remains behind bars with a $75,000 bond on the child abuse charges and a $10,000 bond on the abuse of a vulnerable adult charge.
The sheriff’s office did not say what became of the abused child or if there were other children at the home.
