VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — A Washington state man accused of keeping two young autistic sons in a room with a cage-like door says he heard on a television show that it’s OK to do so for their own safety.
The Columbian newspaper reports (http://is.gd/TdKtYr) 31-year-old John Eckhart took the stand at his trial in Vancouver, Wash., Friday.
He testified he heard on either the reality TV show “Supernanny” or “Nanny 911” that if a parent is worried a child might hurt himself, it’s OK to lock the child in a room.
Eckhart and his former live-in girlfriend Alayna Higdon are charged with unlawful imprisonment of Eckhart’s sons, ages 5 and 7.
