The woman and her husband were arrested in 2022 for allegedly locking their adopted son for hours in a small windowless room, with only a “bucket for my urine and feces”; Her lawyer, however, says the family lived with “daily worry and violence”.
Tracy Ferriter, one of two Florida parents accused of locking their adopted teenage son in a windowless 8×8 box in family storage for hours on end, has accepted a plea deal in the case.
On Monday, Ferriter, 48, pleaded responsible to the crimes of aggravated child abuse, false imprisonment and child neglect. In exchange for her plea, she will serve 10 years of probation and one year of house arrest, according to WPTV.
After the hearing, Ferriter spoke to the press – where she was asked whether or not she regretted the way she treated her son. Although the video is not available for embedding, it can be viewed on YouTube by clicking the hyperlink above.
“We lived a life that is not what is portrayed in the media. There were a number of questions that no one knew about. We were a very loving family. I really like my children. We just tried to do the best we could with what we had,” she said.
When asked how she was feeling now, she added, “It’s powerful because I’m doing this because I want my children to not be part of this trial, to have their names all over the media and then they can transfer.”
“But I know what our family was really like, I know the reality and what we were trying to do. We loved all of our children and were trying to deal with something for which there is no remedy,” she continued. “It is an expensive street and there is no assistance for this situation. There is no support that can help parents work through this.”
Palm Seaside County Public Data
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The lawyers, in turn, claimed that the teenager was diagnosed with RAD, or Reactive Attachment Dysfunction, which they said left him without an “ethical compass” after “abuse he suffered in foster care.”
“Tracy was trying to protect her family, defend her children, she was trying to protect herself,” said one lawyer, while another said another of her children was ready to testify to corroborate “the day to day worry and violence that this family suffered and had to face.”
“Tracy is not a monster. This is a human being who is extremely polite, loving and has adopted children out of the kindness of his heart. The media really believed it wrong,” his lawyer added. “Unfortunately, we don’t know about children with RAD, Reactive Attachment Dysfunction, and we hope this sheds some light on that. It’s horrible.”
As for why she accepted a liability plea, her lawyer said it was to spare her children a trial. “She wanted the problem resolved,” her lawyer said, “even though she had a good chance of being exonerated, she really wanted to put the matter to rest.”
“I had a bucket for urine and feces.”#TimothyFerriteradopted son takes a position in #BoyInTheBoxTrial.
“RF” says his only option for a bathroom was to use a bucket in an 8×8 cell where Timothy allegedly locked him.#CourtTV What do you think? pic.twitter.com/t4gSPQReDU– Court Súmula TV (@CourtTV) October 4, 2023
@CourtTV
The plea comes after her husband, Timothy Ferriter, went to trial and was found liable on one count of aggravated baby abuse, false imprisonment and neglect of a child last year.
During his trial, Palm Seaside County jurors heard seven days of testimony, according to local ABC affiliate WPBFincluding hours of video from a Ring camera that exposed the interior of the small building, where the boy only had a bucket for a toilet.
As WPBF previously reported, the footage showed Tim swearing at the teen and throwing things across the room. He also allegedly threatened to keep the boy on the field sooner or later if he continued to misbehave at school.
The field contained in the storage room of Ferriter’s Florida residence was first found after the teenager ran away in January 2022. Police had previously been alerted to the room by the contractors who built it; Once authorities found the boy, he allegedly told officers that was where he had been confined for up to 16 to 18 hours.
According to evidence provided during the trial, by Law and Crime, the teenager was previously locked in an identical building at the family’s former residence in Arizona, starting at age 11.
Ferrites was arrested in Jupiter, Florida in February 2022.
During Tim’s trial, his adopted son testified in court with regard to the circumstances contained in the 8×8 construction through which he was saved. The boy, who has not been identified and was 14 at the time of his parents’ arrest in 2022, took the stand in the case against his father. Although he described the mistreatment as “dehumanizing,” he also said he believes his parents made a “mistake” and that others should “forgive them and move on.”
He testified that the windowless 8×8 room was built inside the storage. The building had a double bed on a concrete floor, no windows and air conditioning and lights he couldn’t control, he said. The boy claimed that he was sometimes saved in total darkness, with patches of skin preventing him from getting out on his own.
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“I had a bucket for my urine and feces and that was it,” he added, saying the room often smelled “putrid.” He also stated that he “obtained water frequently, but not regularly.”
When asked by prosecutors how he felt being inside a room, he said: “For me, being locked in a room is dehumanizing. It is virtually as dangerous as genocide. It’s sad to abuse a child who was simply acting like a child.” He also said he would be “put into the room by physical power” if he resisted… and claimed his father once “hit” him in the face and would “beat” him with a jump rope or belt while screaming.
During the trial, the defense said Tim and his wife had to make “strong decisions” about their son due to his behavioral problems. According to WPTVShiela Rapa, a witness for the defense, testified that the teenager suffers from “reactive attachment dysfunction” – a situation in which a child does not form a healthy emotional bond with their parents or guardians.
Tim’s defense lawyer, Prya Murad, argued that Tim’s behavior was just a case of “dangerous parenting” but did not rise to the prison level, saying the room was used to “monitor” the child.
He was sentenced to 5 years in prison in November.
Legislation and Crime/YouTube
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