Illinois Mother Imprisons Boy in Crawlspace

Shannon Wilfong, a 32-year-old Illinois mother, has been convicted of five misdemeanors in conjunction with child neglect of her son. Her former lover, Michael Chekevdia, a former police officer, is the father of the child. Wilfong sought to hide the boy from Chekevdia , not wanting to lose custody of him. In order to prevent her ex-boyfriend from having contact with his son, she hid the nine-year-old boy in her mother’s Illinois home. When guests came to the house, she locked him in a crawl space. The crawlspace was tiny – roughly 5 feet by 12 feet, about the height of a washing machine.

According to police, the child was denied medical care and schooling. He was only allowed out in night in the fenced in yard. Windows in the house were shuttered and locked. The boy was kept in complete isolation. This lasted two years, and the child was denied all contact with the outside world during this time. Despite this neglect, Wilfong received only a slap on the wrist from authorities. She was sentenced to $1500 in fines and 30 days in jail. Her mother, Diane Dobbs, also served jail time (12 days) for obstructing justice. She was fined $1000.

Diane Dobbs told the court that her daughter had been afraid the boy’s father would abuse him. However, authorities found no sign of abuse and discounted her allegations. In a recent custody hearing, the judge ruled full custody to go to the boy’s father. The mother will only be allowed to see her son during supervised visits.

Dobbs and Wilfong both pleaded guilty to the charges.