The case regarding the teen who escaped his abusive home keeps getting heated in the courtroom. Running into a fitness center in shackles, his “aunt” and the two homeowners were arrested and now face trial for chaining the boy to the fireplace, choking him with a belt and denying him food for days at a time. However, a fourth suspect has entered the scene of these crimes. Anthony Waiters (29), was arrested Tuesday at his workplace in Pleasanton. Booked at San Joauin County Jail, he was charged with torture, conspiracy, child endangerment, corporal injury to a child and false imprisonment.

The San Jose Mercury News reported that Waiters is a youth football coach who lives in the house next to the home where the boy was allegedly held hostage and tortured. According to Waiters’ mom, he would often hang out at the neighbors, watching football.

Police did not release further details due to a judge’s gag order. Three other people face torture, kidnapping and child abuse charges in the case. The moral of this tragic tale is that adults without morals are out there crushing spirits and in this case and all others, I believe that justice needs to be served. If a group of adults are in on abusing a child, in my opinion, they should be sentenced to life in prison without parole. Afterall, they have imprisoned a young boy for over a year, literally, and metaphorically…the memories of it will be with him for a lifetime.

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