A 5-year-old boy allegedly locked in a basement by his parents and whose forced diet was mostly carrots, had an "orangey" tint to his skin when he was examined by doctors, according to a newly unsealed search warrant.
Clarissa Anne Tobiasson, 27, and Brett Parker Tobiasson, 31, were charged Aug. 9 in 4th District Court with child abuse, a second-degree felony. The couple is accused of "disciplining" their adopted son by locking him in a basement room for many hours each day, often with no light, and requiring him to eat a certain amount of carrots each day, according to charging documents.
A recently unsealed search warrant in 4th District Court went into more detail about the diet the Tobiassons allegedly forced upon the boy.
"The child was required to eat a bowl or baggy of carrots and would not be given anything else to eat or drink until the carrots were gone. If the carrots were not eaten they would be saved for the next meal and then the next meal and sometimes the next day.
"One night the family had ordered pizza and the child was only allowed to have carrots, and then told once all the carrots were gone he could have pizza. Later the child was given a short time to finish the carrots and was then told he did not eat them in time therefore he could not have pizza. He was told by his father he would give him pizza in the morning, however while being locked in the room he had an accident in his pants and was told because of the accident he could no longer have the pizza," the warrant states.
