Court records detail why the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office arrested two parents last week after their children ran away from their Santan Valley home.
SANTAN VALLEY, Arizona — A former employee of the Arizona Department of Corrections allegedly handcuffed children and barricaded them in bedrooms that were locked from the outside. Pinal County Sheriff’s Office.
Kelly Conklin, 46, and his wife, Melissa, were arrested last week after their two children fled their family’s home in the San Tan Valley. The couple faces abuse charges after a home resident told the sheriff’s office disturbing details about how her parents allegedly disciplined her 10 children.
Related: Pinal County 12-year-old boy found safe after parents detained
After one of the runaway children returned home last Tuesday, PCSO representatives were dispatched to the family’s home to receive reports of an assault between the child and Melissa Conklin.
The child was taken to hospital for visible facial injuries. The child told hospital staff that his father had choked him and handcuffed him, according to a report written by PCSO.
The child claimed that Kelly Conklin had previously abused the child with handcuffs and described a bedroom in the family’s home that was used as a holding area for troubled children.
According to PCSO, the bedroom had surveillance cameras, an alarm system, a doorbell, and a keypad to lock the room from the outside.
Investigators later searched the house and found a room matching this description, records show.
Other children were told PCSO that Kelly Conklin threatened them with weapons and restrained them with handcuffs “many times”.
The Department of Corrections said last week that Conklin had resigned from the agency after his arrest.
A 12-year-old boy who also ran away from his family’s home was found safe on Saturday, according to the PCSO.
A DCS spokesperson declined to comment on the matter or tell 12News how many times the family has been investigated because of confidentiality laws.
2017 Civil Lawsuit Sheds Light on Earlier DCS Investigations
In 2017, Kelly and Melissa Conklin filed a civil lawsuit against Santan Behavioral Health Services, alleging defamation and false light.
The allegation stems from an apparent incident in August 2017 when a behavioral health employee delivered the Conklin children home.
According to the lawsuit, a San Tan Behavioral Health employee alleged that Kelly Conklin approached a transport vehicle that “abandoned a firearm in his hand and threatened the driver” when he dropped off his foster child that day. increase.
The lawsuit says an employee reported the incident, prompting a DCS investigation. The lawsuit states that DCS found the reports to be unfounded.
Court filings show that the lawsuit has been dismissed.
speed up
Check out the latest news and stories on our 12News YouTube playlist here.
