Florida Mom Who Locked Adopted Son, 14, in Box as Punishment WILL NOT Serve Jail Time After Shocking Guilty Plea — as She Claims 'I Love My Kids'
The mother who locked her adopted teenage son in a box as punishment for acting out will not face any jail time.
The mother who locked her adopted teenage son in a box as punishment for acting out will not face any jail time after she pleaded guilty to the charges late last month, RadarOnline.com can report.
In a shocking development to come after Tracy Ferriter, 48, pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated child abuse, third-degree felony false imprisonment, and third-degree child neglect on June 24, it was revealed that she would not be incarcerated for her crimes.
Tracy Ferriter, 48, pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated child abuse, third-degree felony false imprisonment, and third-degree child neglect on June 24.
Instead, the Florida judge overseeing the proceedings sentenced Ferriter to 20 years of probation and one year of house arrest for her role in what has since been dubbed the “Boy in the Box” case.
Also shocking was Ferriter’s claim that she “loves her kids” and raised a “completely loving family” even though she pleaded guilty to locking her 14-year-old adopted son in a box that was no bigger than 8x8-feet.
“We were living a life that's not what is portrayed in the media,” the Florida mom-of-four said during a press conference held after her sentencing hearing this week, according to Daily Mail.
“There was a lot of things that nobody knew,” she continued. “We were a completely loving family. I love my kids. We just tried to do the best that we could with what we had.”
The Florida judge overseeing the proceedings sentenced Ferriter to 20 years of probation and one year of house arrest.
According to Daily Mail, Ferriter and her husband, Timothy Ferriter, were first arrested in February 2022 after their adopted son ran away from home and approached police.
The boy, whom the Ferriters adopted from Vietnam when he was still only a toddler, reportedly told the police that he was abused, imprisoned, and neglected by his devout Catholic adoptive parents.
“[The victim] stated the spankings would take place in his bedroom and he would be naked bent over his bed,” the arresting affidavit read. “[The victim] stated he could recall one spanking was so painful he fell off his bed in pain.”
Video footage from a Ring device placed inside the boy’s “box” later found that the Ferriters locked their adoptive son up daily for upwards of six weeks from December 2021 to February 2022.
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“We were a completely loving family. I love my kids. We just tried to do the best that we could with what we had.”
“In one video in particular [the victim] was locked in his room after being found to have ‘stolen’ chocolate cookies from the kitchen despite being told he was not allowed to have them,” the February 2022 arrest affidavit stated.
“This behavior resulted in [the victim] having the covers removed from his mattress, his mattress picked up and tossed against the wall and Timothy grabbing [the victim] against the arm yelling at him,” the affidavit added.
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As for Timothy Ferriter, he was found guilty of aggravated child abuse, false imprisonment, and child neglect in November 2023 and sentenced to five years in state prison followed by five years of probation.
Tracy Ferriter and her husband, Timothy Ferriter, were first arrested in February 2022 after their adopted son ran away from home and approached police.
“There were plenty of opportunities that the defendant had to reflect on whether what he did was wrong,” Circuit Judge Howard Coates – who also presided over Tracy Ferriter’s proceedings – said at Timothy Ferriter’s sentencing hearing last year.
“It appears that he never took the time to reflect,” the judge added, “and he never concluded that what he did was wrong.”
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