Father arrested after child found in secret closet that was nailed shut
A man in Arkansas has been arrested and charged with false imprisonment and other offences after allegedly hiding his five-year-old daughter in a secret compartment that was nailed shut inside his closet.
Jon Thompson, 40, of Tontitown, Ark., was arrested Friday after state officials tried to take custody of the girl.
When police and officials with the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) showed up at his house on Nov. 1, Thompson repeatedly said the child was not there and refused to let authorities enter the home.
Thompson produced paperwork indicating he was awarded custody of the child, though officers presented him with documents of their own showing the state had been granted an order of custody, NBC News reported. Police reports did not elaborate on why the girl was ordered to be taken into state care.
Eventually, more officers arrived at the home and Thompson allowed them to come inside.
Body camera footage from inside the home was released by Tontitown police, showing a man in overalls and a backwards cap kneeling inside a closet, moving objects and apparently struggling to remove the nailed-in door of the hiding spot.
After about 20 seconds, the child emerges from the back of the closet and voices can be heard saying, “Hey, sweetie.”
A photo released by police shows a dark opening at the back of the closet where the girl was allegedly hidden away, as well as the whiteboard used to conceal the secret compartment. Exposed, pink building insulation can be seen inside the hiding spot.
According to an incident report, the man “moved some boxes and then had to pull a board that was nailed to the wall to get access to a small space behind the closet wall.”
“Jon admitted to concealing … inside the compartment so
Read more on globalnews.ca
