BERRIEN SPRINGS (WKZO/WSJM) -- A Berrien Springs mother accused of handcuffing her teenage son as a punishment will not be facing criminal charges.
The boy was removed from his mother's home last week when he called police to report that his mom had confined him to one small room for most of the day over a two week period, and then started handcuffing him to a chair and desk when she caught him sneaking an MP3 player in there.
Berrien County Prosecutor Art Cotter investigated the matter as a possible child abuse case, but tells us that the boy was never in any real danger and hadn't been physically harmed. The biggest mistake the mother made, as he sees it, was handcuffing her son.
"That did constitute a criminal offense," Cotter said. "However, after talking to the young man...I just didn't believe it was in the young man's best interest...the family's [best interest], or the interest of justice" to pursue it.
Instead, the case has been sent to Family Court, where a civil trial will be conducted that won't result in any jail time.
Cotter says that, having conducted interviews with everyone involved, he believes that the mother was justifiably concerned for her son, as the boy had recently been arrested for shoplifting and was skipping school. However, the handcuffing was not excusable.
The boy and his parents have agreed to family counseling. He and his sister remain in foster care.
