Utah Parents Plead No Contest to Torturing Emaciated Son
Couple admits to child torture and abuse charges after 11-year-old was starved to the point of eating toothpaste.
A Utah couple has pleaded no contest to charges of child torture and abuse after subjecting their 11-year-old son to severe mistreatment and malnourishment. Jeremiah Perkins, 40, and Jennifer Perkins, 48, entered the plea deal on Tuesday.
Prosecutors reduced Jeremiah Perkins' charge from first-degree felony child torture to attempted child torture, a second-degree felony. Jennifer Perkins' charge was reduced from first-degree felony child torture to aggravated child abuse, also a second-degree felony.
The couple was arrested in Moab, Utah, in December 2025. According to court documents, the boy lost 11 pounds, or 13 percent of his body weight, over a five-month period. Police and the Utah Division of Child and Family Services removed the child from the Perkinses' custody on October 29, 2025, describing him as 'very frail' and 'skeletal.'
The 11-year-old was reportedly fed only small portions of rice and vegetables. The severity of his starvation led him to eat toothpaste and Tums, and drink DayQuil, in an effort to stave off hunger.
Doctors at the Children's Justice Center diagnosed the boy with severe malnutrition and refeeding syndrome, a condition that can occur when malnourished individuals begin a nutritional diet.
Beyond starvation, the couple also subjected the child to other forms of abuse. Court documents indicate they locked him in a dog kennel at least four times and restrained him with zip ties, sometimes hog-tying him and placing him on a cold vent in his father's room. On at least one occasion, a ball-gag was placed in the boy's mouth after he allegedly attempted to bite Jennifer Perkins.
Prosecutors offered the plea deal to prevent the child victim from having to testify and relive his trauma. Grand County Attorney Stephen Stocks stated that the plea would stop the child from being "retraumatized and revictimized."
The parents are scheduled for sentencing hearings on November 17. Both face up to 15 years in prison. They have agreed to have no contact with their victim until he turns 18.
A no contest plea is not a direct admission of guilt but signifies that the defendants will not contest the charges and are willing to accept the court's sentencing, functioning similarly to a guilty plea for legal purposes.
The child has been living with a foster family for nearly a year and is reportedly thriving.