Two arraigned on charges after teen found in cage in Michigan's Thumb

By Brad Devereaux

PARIS TOWNSHIP, MI — Two adults were arraigned on charges of unlawful imprisonment and abuse after police found a 19-year-old "mentally disabled" man in a cage that was chained shut inside a Huron County bedroom.

Karen S. Tolin, 65, and Timothy E. Tolin, 66, both occupants of the house where the teen was found, were arraigned in Huron County District Court Tuesday, Oct. 28. Each is charged with a single count of unlawful imprisonment, a 15-year felony, and third-degree vulnerable adult abuse, a high court 2-year misdemeanor.

Both are free on $5,000 or 10 percent bonds, court officials said.

Police responded to investigate a civil dispute about 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20, to a home at 3700 Minden Road south of Priemer, when they discovered the mentally challenged male teen in a caged bed with the door chained shut, the Huron County Sheriff's Department said in a prepared statement.

The two suspects were arrested on the charges authorized by Huron County Prosecutor Tim Rutkowski.

When a deputy responded, upon speaking with parties involved, permission was granted for a deputy to enter one of the bedrooms, where he found the 19-year-old in the cage.

The Associated Press reports the teen has autism.

At approximately 10 p.m. Oct. 20, two adults were removed from the home, and court action the following day ordered one more adult removed, police said.

Further court action on Friday, Oct. 25, ordered the final two children removed from the home. Two deputies from the sheriff's office also assisted on Friday evening, police said.

The sheriff's department contacted the Michigan Department of Human Services emergency center and personnel were dispatched to the scene.

DHS said its adult protective services office is investigating. Spokesman Bob Wheaton said the home is a private residence, not a licensed care facility, the AP reports.

Paris Township is in Michigan's Thumb, about 90 miles north of Detroit.