'A very sad little boy': Saskatoon child abuse trial hears 7-year-old was locked in empty room

Warning: This story contains details some readers may find disturbing.

SASKATOON - After escaping from a bedroom he was locked in, a seven-year-old boy told police what drove him to crawl through the window.

The recorded police interview was conducted at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital, the day after the boy escaped last year.

The video of the conversation was played at Saskatoon provincial court on Tuesday during a child abuse trial.

In the video, the seven-year-old boy told Sgt. Michelle Kinzel that he and his brother often were locked in a bedroom.

• Boy testifying in Saskatoon child abuse trial starkly describes life inside locked, empty room with brother

“Can you tell me about your room?” Kinzel asks the boy, who is sitting in a hospital bed.

“There’s nothing,” he responds.

On Dec. 7, 2020, police were called to a home in the 600 block of Lenore Drive for reports of a boy spotted on a roof.

Officers then found the boy’s four-year-old brother confined in the room.

Police photos show an empty room, with no bed or toys.

The only thing in the room is a sock, and vomit on a carpet.

The pictures show the room’s doorknob wrapped in yellow rope.

The boy told police the rope was tied to a banister to keep the door shut.

“He was a very sad little boy. His spirit seemed broken to me,” Kinzel told court about her experience interviewing the child.

“He was very quiet. He never smiled.”

Kinzel testified the boy looked skinny and had scars and bruises all over his body. She told court he had dried blood in his hairline and ear.

The boy's 36-year-old aunt and her 28-year-old boyfriend have been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm, unlawful confinement and assault with a weapon.

The boy said the woman would often “get mad.”

He told police he was scared what would happen when she came home and saw his brother’s vomit, so he crawled out the bedroom window.

When police arrived at the home, people were helping the boy down from the roof.

One of the first officers on the scene was Const. Spencer Bourhis.

Bourhis testified he and another officer were the ones who found the four-year-old boy confined in the room.

Shortly after, Bourhis said a 36-year-old woman ran towards the home. She identified herself as the boy’s caretaker.

Bourhis said he asked the woman about the rope on the door

The officer testified the woman said it was her first time doing it, to avoid the boys getting into mischief.

“When you asked her if it was adequate care, how did she respond?” Crown prosecutor Lana Morelli asked Bourhis on the stand.

“She said, ‘Yes it was,’” Bourhis responded.

The man and woman accused can’t be named because it would reveal the identities of the children, who are protected under a court-ordered publication ban.

In court, the now eight-year-old boy watched his interview with police from a separate room, while petting a service dog.

The child is set to testify on Wednesday.