Henderson couple who kept autistic child in ‘makeshift jail cell’ sentenced

A Henderson couple arrested after police discovered an autistic child confined in a “makeshift jail cell” were sentenced to probation Wednesday.

Misty Scanlan and Jeffery Scanlan pleaded guilty to child neglect or endangerment, a gross misdemeanor, in January. They initially faced felony counts of child abuse, neglect or endangerment after they were arrested last April.

The plea deals for the Scanlans specified that they agreed to be placed on probation for a year and receive 364-day suspended sentences. Prosecutors had the right to argue at the sentencing if the two were deemed at high risk to reoffend, but did not do so.

District Judge Jessica Peterson said the two defendants were both deemed low risks. She followed the negotiations and said their probation will not exceed 12 months.

Defense attorney Michael Horvath did not make any argument. Neither of the Scanlans had anything to say to the judge.

“It’s a very fair resolution,” Horvath said after court. “Obviously, the initial charges didn’t really show what the underlying facts were.”

He said the Scanlans did not actually keep their child in a cage, but he declined to elaborate.

Defense attorney Robert Draskovich previously said the Scanlans had not acted maliciously. The boy was in a “structure” intended to prevent him from harming himself, he said.

Police said in an arrest report that Henderson and Clark County School District police went to the Scanlans’ home after their four children did not go to school for days.

There, officers found an 11-year-old autistic boy wearing only a diaper and locked in what the report described as a “makeshift jail cell.” The house smelled like feces and was in “extreme disarray,” according to police. The boy was hospitalized.

The Scanlans told police they had trouble accessing resources for their children and hadn’t been able to clean the house for a couple of weeks. Jeffery Scanlan claimed the boy was “big and strong” and “can be very aggressive when he wants something.”

Draskovich said Wednesday that he thinks the 11-year-old is currently in his clients’ custody. The Scanlans “did the best they could with the tools at their disposal,” he said.

He added: “They’ve learned from this.”

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.