Northland man is sentenced for handcuffing son to basement support beam

A Northland man who admitted handcuffing his teenage son to a basement support beam in their Kansas City, North, home was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison, but he could serve as little as four months.

David L. Martin Sr. pleaded guilty to felonious restraint and second-degree domestic assault on Nov. 12.

Martin must serve 120 days of “shock time” before becoming eligible for probation.

Police sent to the family’s townhouse in the 4000 block of North Wheeling Avenue on Feb. 4, 2013, found the teen shackled and lying in the fetal position on blankets on the family’s concrete basement floor. A neighbor had alerted authorities by calling the child abuse hotline.

Officers said the 17-year-old victim had sores and abrasions on both wrists. The boy told police he had been restrained that way for several months.

Martin and his wife, Pamela S. Martin, told investigators the teen was bipolar and had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. They kept him handcuffed, they said, for their safety and his and because they did not have the money to buy his prescription medicine.

Pamela Martin was charged with felonious restraint and abuse of a child and is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 13.

The teen told police his father typically woke him at 4 a.m., allowed him to use the bathroom and fed him instant oatmeal. The father would lock him back up until he got home from work about 2:30 p.m. He would be allowed another bathroom break and be served ramen noodles before being handcuffed again.

Later in the evening, his father would bring him two bologna sandwiches and water before locking him up for the night, the teen told police.

The boy’s weight dropped from 130 pounds to 103. He had been denied use of the bathroom for at least 10 hours at a time for about six weeks, according to court records.

Authorities also said the teen was allowed to shower once every four weeks.

David Martin had told police he had previously locked his son in his bedroom but resorted to handcuffs after the teen escaped. Martin said that he restrained his son while he was out of the home and that he was the only person who handcuffed and released the teen.

After the boy was placed in foster care, he quickly gained weight and made other improvements, according to authorities.

This story was originally published February 6, 2015 at 3:44 PM with the headline "Northland man is sentenced for handcuffing son to basement support beam."