A Utah woman was criminally charged on Monday, months after she allegedly kidnapped an 11-year-old boy whom she believed was bullying her child and threatened him.
On September 17, Shannon Tufuga, 40, reportedly forced the boy into her car and drove him to her Provo home to have him apologize to her child. Tufaga told the boy that he was going to have her husband assault him — and that he is “lucky” she did not run him over as he rode his bike, according to USA Today.
The boy’s mother told KSL that Tufaga’s child had a crush on her son and had been “bothering” him about it for the past two years. The mother said her son said something rude to Tufuga’s child after years of pestering.
“One day he got fed up with the fact that she doesn’t leave him alone,” the boy’s mother said.
The mother also alleged that Tufaga’s husband was brandishing a gun during the ordeal.
“They basically opened their door and told him to get the eff out, and he ran all the way home, she said. “He came in, and he was just hysterical and said, ‘Mom, I just got kidnapped!”
The mother told KTVX that she was hesitant to have Tufaga charged, but that changed after learning Tufaga said she “didn’t care what happened to him, [and] that she’d do it again.”
Tufaga is charged with kidnapping and aggravated child abuse. In a statement to KTVX, Provo police explained that another department investigated the allegations against Tufaga, who was a city employee.
“To prevent any potential conflict of interest, the criminal investigation involving Shannon Tufuga was conducted by the Orem Police Department, as she was employed by Provo City as a crossing guard at the time of the allegation. Shannon is no longer an employee of Provo City,” the police department said.
Tufaga is not in custody, but a summons was issued ordering her to appear in court.
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