GLENDALE, Ariz. — A Glendale man is facing felony charges of child abuse, aggravated assault and unlawful imprisonment after police said he tied up his 14-year-old stepson at his hands and feet and then allegedly assaulted him.
According to Glendale police, 37-year-old Mto Assa of Glendale admitted to police that he bound the hands and feet of the 14-year-old boy but denied that any assault occurred.
Police said just before 10:30 p.m. on June 8, the teenage boy fled to a neighbor's apartment near Glendale and 43rd avenues to ask for help. His hands and feet were still bound with ropes.
The boy told officers that his stepfather had tied his hands behind his back and bound his ankles and then connected the ropes together and that he was struck and physically assaulted by Assa.
The 14-year-old was able to get free in part because his younger sister was able to free one of his feet so he could run for help, police said. The neighbor cut the ropes from the boy's wrists while waiting for police to arrive.
According to Glendale PD, the stepfather tied him up because the boy's mother had filed a police report on the teen as a runaway earlier that day. When the boy returned home, Assa allegedly said during the assault that he would keep the boy tied up for the next year.
As for Assa's denial of a physical assault, police said the forensic nurse recorded injuries that were consistent with the statement from the 14-year-old.
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