A Utah woman faces the potential of life in prison for allegedly kidnapping an 11-year-old boy off the street, taking him to her home, and forcing him to apologize to her child for being a bully.
Provo resident Shannon Marie Tufuga was charged Monday with child kidnapping, which carries a potential sentence of 15 years to life in prison. She’s also been charged with aggravated child abuse for allegedly terrorizing the boy, according to court documents.
She also threatened to have her husband beat up the 11-year-old, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in her case.
Regardless of whether she actually did what she’s accused of, becoming a bully to kidnap, traumatize, and threaten a child isn’t the way for a parent to deal with a schoolyard bully, said former Campbell County Sheriff Bill Pownall.
“Definitely not the right way to go about that,” he said, adding that there are a number of things parents can do short of kidnapping and tormenting a child.
“I damn sure wouldn’t go grab a kid and drag him to my house,” Pownall said.
She Was Looking For Him
Tufuga was hit with the two second-degree felony charges Monday and has been summoned to court for an April 30 initial appearance for an incident that happened Sept. 17 of last year, according to court records.
The 11-year-old “was riding his bike in his neighborhood in Provo,” the affidavit says. “The defendant was driving around looking for (the boy, identified by the initials KB), wanting to confront him about bullying her child.”
When she found him, Tufuga allegedly “stopped her vehicle in front of KB’s bike and made KB get into her vehicle,” the document says. “The defendant transported KB to her home in Provo, without KB’s parents’ knowledge or permission, to have KB apologize to her child.”
Once at the house, the 11-year-old apologized but also was reportedly threatened by Tufuga to have her husband beat him up and that he was “lucky she did not run over KB’s bike,” the affidavit says.
Then, Tufuga took the 11-year-old home.
Go To The Other Parents
The boy was so traumatized by the experience that it’s caused him “serious emotional distress,” the affidavit says. “KB now has high anxiety and has had to alter his daily routines significantly since this incident.”
Pownall said he understands the instinct of a parent to protect her child, but becoming a bigger bully to stop bullying is crossing the line.
“Obviously, what I would’ve recommended initially is to talk with the other parents,” he said. “I know that may not work, and if it didn’t, then maybe an officer could intervene.
“But you should contact the parent of the child, see if you could get something worked out as far as the bullying is concerned.”
The court affidavit doesn’t say whether Tufuga had reached out to the 11-year-old’s parents, their school, or law enforcement before allegedly taking a more drastic action.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
