Local

Judge scolds father, stepmother of boy found hidden in closet

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A judge didn't hold back Thursday at a preliminary court hearing for the father and stepmother accused of keeping a boy hidden in a closet at a Clayton County house.
 
Channel 2's Mark Winne first broke the story on Nov. 29.
 
Gregory Jean Sr. and Samantha Joy Davis are accused of keeping 13-year-old Gregory Jean Jr. from his mother four years.
 
Channel 2's Tom Regan reported Judge Wanda Dallas was so upset about the details of this case, that she said she will file additional assault charges against Davis for the alleged beating using a stick.
 
The boy was found behind a false wall in a linen closet inside the home. The police officer who discovered the boy, said it was a horrifying sight; saying the boy had bruising, bleeding and appeared to be in shock.
 
Jean Jr. told Winne he had seen his mother twice in the last four years while traveling with friends of his parents.
 
Investigators said the child's mother apparently reported the boy missing to child welfare authorities but not to police – possibly because she's an immigrant unfamiliar with the system.
 
He said he had been on punishment for three years and said in the current house where the family was living, he slept in the pantry by the front door, on the floor.