An Arkansas man who kept his daughter hidden in a “void” in his home to prevent the state from gaining custody of her has been sentenced to prison.
Jon Thompson, 42, pled guilty to false imprisonment, interference with custody, possession of drug paraphernalia, criminal possession of body armor, and failing to appear the day before his trial, according to KFSM, a local CBS station. He was also charged with endangering the welfare of a kid, but this allegation was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Thompson was arrested in November 2023 after a custody dispute over his then-5-year-old daughter resulted in police officers encircling his home, along with officials from the state’s Department of Human Services. Thompson’s daughter was discovered hiding in a small, “triangle-shaped void,” according to court filings.
As previously reported on Law&Crime, Thompson received a court order on November 1, 2023, to surrender his daughter to state custody. He refused to comply, and officials arrived at his parents’ home, where he was hiding his daughter. According to an affidavit acquired by Law&Crime, Thompson, who had a history of avoiding law enforcement, was “unfriendly” when cops arrived.
According to the affidavit, Thompson told police that his daughter was not at home and refused to let authorities in. He claimed that a previous court order granted him custody of the girl, but officers presented him with the latest order, and he allowed them into the house.
When officers entered the house, Thompson took them to a walk-in closet and knelt in front of what turned out to be a false wall. In a moment captured on police body camera, he pounded on the wall and contacted his daughter, informing her that it was him. He then removed the artificial wall, which had been nailed down, and let the terrified girl out.
According to the affidavit, the youngster was in the “confined space,” which measured about 8-by-4-feet, “for approximately 30 minutes without being able to leave of her own free will.” Police stated that girl was safe.
Thompson was sentenced to four years in prison, with a six-year suspended sentence.