Dennis Couch, 42, was charged Monday, June 12, 2017, with aggravated child abuse, neglect and endangerment in connection with the discovery of a 5-year-old developmentally challenged boy who was being locked in a room and chained to the floor.A 5-year-old developmentally challenged Rhea County, Tenn., boy was being alternately locked in a room and harnessed to a bolt in the floor of a home in Evensville, Tenn., over the last several months, investigators said Tuesday.
The discovery landed the boy’s mother and her boyfriend behind bars on child abuse charges.
Monica Hall, 39, and Dennis Couch, 42, Hall’s boyfriend of four or five years, were charged Monday afternoon with aggravated child abuse, neglect and endangerment in connection with the investigation, Rhea County Sheriff’s Office investigator Rocky Potter said.
Couch also is charged with initiation of the manufacture of methamphetamine and unlawful drug paraphernalia uses and activities. The drug-related items were found in a well house where Couch sometimes slept, Potter said.
The detective said Tuesday the situation at the Evensville home was unlike anything he had ever seen.