An Oahu grand jury indicted a Maili couple today in the torture of a 13-year-old boy.
The boy’s mother Jasmine Quiroz-Pele, 35, was indicted on two counts of torture and one count of kidnapping.
His step-father James Heffernan, 36 was indicted for kidnapping and accomplice to commit torture.
All charges are Class A felonies, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The boy was “subjected to an ongoing pattern of abuse, neglect, food deprivation and confinement” by his mother and stepfather, Honolulu police Homicide Lt. Deena Thoemmes said Saturday.
The indictment alleges the pair qualify for extended terms of imprisonment as multiple offenders. If they are convicted, prosecutors can seek a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
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The two are being held without bail at the Oahu Community Correctional Center.
The teen and his siblings — an infant and a 5-year-old girl — were placed in protective custody with the Child Welfare Services.
They are under a no-contact order, which prohibits them from contacting the three children and prohibited from coming within 500 feet of the home of a neighbor, to which the boy fled.