A Salt Lake high school student was removed from his home by child welfare workers after a teacher discovered an injury on the left side of his head.
The 14-year-old boy and his little brother were taken from an apartment near 700 South and 1200 East last week, when the father beat the teen repeatedly in the head, arm and legs with a closed fist, police said. The father then took an object, possibly an alarm clock, and hit the boy on the side of his head, and the boy bled profusely, according to a search warrant affidavit filed Monday in 3rd District Court.
The boy and his brother were in state custody until Sunday, when they were released to other family members. "He's doing really well," said Carol Sisco, spokeswoman for the Utah Division of Child and Family Services.
The father became angry at the boy when he learned that he did not get up early one morning to attend school, said detective Gretchen McNees of the Salt Lake police's special victims unit.
"I think the kid was having some problems. The dad is kind of acting as a single parent. Even though the kids have a mom, she's living out of the country," McNees said.
After the incident, which occurred while the boy was in bed, the father got scissors and tried to cut the boy's hair, the affidavit says. The father also took the boy's PlayStation games, threw them on the floor and stomped on them, the affidavit states.
The little brother tried to intervene. The father stopped when he realized his son was bleeding heavily. The boy changed out of his bloody shirt, shorts and boxers and showered, the affidavit states.
At school that day, the boy complained of a headache. After a teacher noticed his head injury, the boy was transported to Primary Children's Medical Center. Police interviewed the boy and received permission to search the apartment to verify certain aspects of his story, McNees said.
E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com