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The husband of a Toquerville woman who was charged last month with leaving their severely malnourished 12-year-old son locked in a filthy bathroom for a year has been accused of child abuse.
Russell Orin Jaynes, 40, was charged Tuesday in 5th District Court with one count of third-degree child abuse.
A charging document alleges the abuse occurred on or about Jan. 8 but gives no other details.
The charge alleges Jaynes either recklessly inflicted serious injury upon a child or, having the care or custody of the child, recklessly caused or permitted someone else to inflict serious physical injury.
Jaynes' wife, Brandy K. Jaynes, 36, was charged Jan. 9 with second-degree felony child abuse. According to charging documents in the mother's case, the boy weighed just 30 pounds on Jan. 8, the day he was brought by Russell Jaynes to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George.
The charging documents say the boy's father found him locked in a bathroom with sheets draped in front of it on Jan. 8, and then took him to a hopsital. The door was locked from the outside with two latches and the father found his son inside lying on the floor with a blanket, the documents say.
Police searched the house and found the bathroom floor covered with what appeared to be feces, the charging documents say. There were a few empty cans of beans and a spoon in the bathroom and a video camera and baby monitor taped to the edge of the shower, the documents say.
Court documents do not give details of the alleged abuse, but prosecutor Angie Reddish-Day said the charges are based on the father's failure to intervene sooner regarding his son's care and his failure to get prompt medical attention after he found the boy locked in the bathroom.
Brandy Jaynes' defense attorney, Edward Flint, has said his client was overwhelmed by a child with "severe special needs."
Flint told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the father lived in the house during the months police say the boy was locked inside the bathroom.
The boy is now in state custody.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 pounds is about the average weight of a 2-year-old.
An arraignment for Russell Jaynes, who was issued a summons, is scheduled for March 21. Court records show he filed for divorce in 5th District Court on Jan. 31.
Meanwhile, a judge on Tuesday refused to reduce Brandy Jaynes' bail. She is being held at the Washington County jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.
Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC