Couple arrested for keeping teen locked in shed

ARCADIA, Fla. (WWSB) - An Arcadia couple was arrested Friday for routinely keeping the man’s 14-year-old son locked in a shed.

Arcadia police officers were called to a home on North Arcadia Avenue to assist an investigation by the Florida Department of Children and Families.

When officers arrived, a DCF investigator led them to a shed where a 14-year-old was locked inside. The shed was unlocked to reveal the boy inside the small, hot space, an arrest report noted.

The boy had a bed, some snacks and canned food, but the shed had no electricity and no plumbing. A bucket with human waste was found inside the shed, deputies said.

The boy told deputies he sleeps in the shed at night and is regularly locked inside for hours at a time. When he was freed, he did not know where his father or his father’s girlfriend were or when they would return. The boy had no other caretakers or guardians.

The boy’s father, Harry Richard Showmaker, and his girlfriend, Jennifer Hines, were arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse.