Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck, Jr. announced the sentencing of a Dayton man who locked an 8-year-old child in the trunk of a vehicle as punishment.
Damon Eugene Ellis was found guilty June 8 by a Montgomery County Common Pleas Court jury of kidnapping and endangering children.
“The actions of this defendant were shocking. He forced a child into the trunk of a car without shoes or a coat when it was about 20 degrees outside,” Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. stated in a release.
“Thankfully, a citizen called police and reported what he saw. This is an excellent example of why we say ‘see something, say something.'”
Video surveillance showed Ellis lock the child in the trunk and then walk away, leaving the boy inside the trunk for approximately 15 seconds before releasing him, according to court documents.
Dayton man sentenced to prison for forcing child into car trunk as punishment with no shoes or coat on when it was 20 degrees outside https://t.co/knyGaRxf2b
— Dayton Daily News (@daytondailynews) June 23, 2021
The child told police that Ellis put him in the trunk to discipline him, according to a release from the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.
Along with his eight year sentence, Ellis was ordered to register as a Violent Offender after he’s released from prison.
By Jen Balduf, Dayton Daily News, Ohio
