Hungry boy told ‘he did not deserve to eat’ as form of punishment, FL cops say

A boy living in a gated community was being starved as a form of punishment, according to investigators in the Florida Panhandle.

The parenting tactic was revealed Saturday, April 19, when the 13-year-old boy called his mother in South Florida and reported he was not being fed, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office’s reported in an April 22 Facebook post.

The boy’s mother alerted authorities, prompting deputies to visit the home in the Shalimar community, officials said.

“When deputies arrived at the condo ... the juvenile victim said he was hungry and had not eaten since the day before. He reported (his caregiver) had left and told him, “He did not deserve to eat,’” the sheriff’s department said.

“The home was in disorder with animal urine and feces on the floor, there was no edible food in the cabinets, and the victim had numerous flea bites on his legs.”

A 64-year-old man who lives at the home was detained and told deputies “he withheld food from the victim as a form of punishment,” officials said.

The man has been charged with child neglect without great bodily harm, jail records show.

Details of his relationship to the boy were not released.

Shalimar is along Choctawhatchee Bay, about a 45-mile drive east from Pensacola.

This story was originally published April 23, 2025 at 9:42 AM with the headline "Hungry boy told ‘he did not deserve to eat’ as form of punishment, FL cops say."