A mother accused of kidnapping an 11-year-old boy and forcing him to apologize for allegedly bullying her child faces felony charges in Utah, court records show.
Shannon Tufuga, 40, was charged with kidnapping and aggravated child abuse, both second-degree felonies. Prosecutors say she confronted the 11-year-old boy while he was riding his bike in his neighborhood in Provo, Utah, and "made" him get into her vehicle.
"The defendant was driving around looking for (the 11-year-old boy) wanting to confront him about bullying her child," Orem, Utah, law enforcement officer Bradley Macfarlane wrote in a statement of probable cause, part of a criminal complaint obtained by USA TODAY.
Tufuga then allegedly drove the boy to her own home in Provo to have him apologize to her child, without permission from the boy's parents, the complaint said. The boy apologized, and Tufuga then threatened to have her husband "beat up" the boy and said he was "lucky" she didn't run over his bike with her car, according to the complaint. She then took him to his house, officials said.
Provo is about 45 miles outside of Salt Lake City and has a population of over 115,000 people.
