An Alabama boy disclosed to law enforcement that his father had repeatedly restrained him to a bed as a form of punishment before leaving for work each day, describing the incident as being placed in a “timeout,” according to police reports.
David Phillips, 31, of Vance, Alabama, had “chains hanging from the bedframe and pills spilled on the floor under the bed” when a Tuscaloosa County school system coordinator and sheriff’s deputies visited his residence to inquire about his children’s absence from school enrollment, according to court documents obtained by local NBC affiliate WVTM.
Phillips allegedly subjected two of his children to abuse and physical restraint between July 10 and August 17 at a home in Vance. An older child informed law enforcement that her younger brother had been shackled to a bedframe while their father was away at work. Phillips subsequently allegedly struck the older child after she disclosed the abuse to authorities.
The school system coordinator and deputies visited the residence on August 17 upon learning that Phillips had failed to enroll the children in school. What they allegedly discovered upon arrival prompted a formal child abuse and neglect investigation.
An investigator reported observing the chains hanging from the bedframe along with pills scattered across the floor beneath it. Deputies additionally discovered a handcuff fastened to the younger child’s ankle, according to court documents.
When questioned about the restraints, the boy allegedly stated that his father had confined him prior to leaving for work.
“Daddy had put him in a timeout before he left for work and he was stuck to the bed,” the child stated, according to the court documents.
Phillips’ daughter informed investigators that her father had used handcuffs to discipline her brother by securing him to the bed on multiple occasions over the course of several months, as detailed in the court documents.
The older child further disclosed that she had been deliberately isolated from friends and family members, denied access to formal education, and withheld from receiving necessary medical treatment.
A report reviewed by an investigator listed torture among several diagnoses associated with both physical and psychological abuse and neglect, according to the court documents.
The Alabama Department of Human Resources assumed custody of both children one day following the August 17 visit, as reported by WVTM.
Phillips faces charges of torture, willful abuse of a child under 18, and aggravated abuse of a child under 6. He is currently being held without bond.
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