Dad who chained 7-year-old son to bed because he couldn't "afford" daycare (though he lived in "middle-class neighborhood") gets 30 days in jail (Logan, Utah)

Dad SAMMIE HODGES is obviously custodial though that fact is not mentioned explicitly here. If the mother had resided in the home she probably would have been arrested too. Or at least she would be mentioned. But she's not. In fact, the boy is now in foster care, though I imagine just for the 30 days. Then Daddy will get custody back.

What happened to this child's mother? How did this obviously clueless father get custody?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2875153/Jail-time-Utah-father-chained-son-bed.html#ixzz3M0kombIE

Father who chained his 7-year-old son to a bed while he was at work because he couldn't afford daycare gets 30 days in jail
Sammie Hodges, 29, will serve jail time and community services after his son was found padlocked by his ankle to a bed in June

By Associated Press Published: 17:01 EST, 15 December 2014
| Updated: 18:40 EST, 15 December 2014

A Utah father will serve 30 days in jail and 30 days of house arrest for chaining his 7-year-old son to a bed while he was at work.

State Judge Brandon Maynard insisted on jail time Monday despite a recommendation from prosecutors that 29-year-old Sammie Hodges from Logan only serve house arrest.

The judge said he didn't want to keep father and son apart, though.

'My goal is not to undermine reunification efforts with your son, but rather to reinforce making good parenting decisions,' Maynard said.

Hodges was charged in June with four counts of child abuse and pleaded guilty to one count in November as part of a deal with prosecutors.

His son wasn't injured by a heavy chain padlocked to his ankle in June and had access to snacks, water and a bathroom, police said.

Police acting on a tip found the boy in a middle-class neighborhood in Logan, a city of about 49,000 people 80 miles north of Salt Lake City.

Defense attorney David Perry said Hodges chained the boy to keep him from running around the neighborhood because he couldn't afford day care.

Prosecutor Jacob Gordon said his actions absolutely rose to the level of child abuse, according to The Herald Journal.

'This is an inappropriate way of child care; there is no way around it,' Gordon said.

The unnamed boy is in foster care.

Hodges was also sentenced to 80 hours of community service, and will have to take anger management and parenting classes.

He will be released to go to work during his jail sentence.

Hodges was ordered to report to jail on December 26 after spending the holiday with his son.