Teen boy locked up for three years

Authorities in America including police visited a house at least three times where a teenage boy was allegedly being held in a mice-infested trailer.

Police say that the 14-year-old boy with mental problems only ate about four meals a week and was only released from his room to take care of some ducks and to clean and eat.

Authorities in Colorado appear to have missed multiple chances to intervene despite visiting the address numerous times.

Police acknowledged that they previously had visited the home but saw no prior signs of abuse and that the boy had told them he had been locked up since 2008.

The boy, described by his mother as "developmentally delayed," was found hiding under a neighbor's porch Sept. 27 in Erie, Colorado, after his mother and her boyfriend left for New York.

Amanda Joliff has been charged, accused of keeping her 14-year-old son locked up for three years. Photo: Supplied

Authorities said that after she returned, she allegedly told officers that a lock found on the plywood door to the boy's room was installed because he had once run away.

Police say she admitted to locking him up when she got upset with him or when he was in trouble.

According to an arrest affidavit, the boy told police that his mother, Amanda Joliff, her boyfriend, Richard Smith, and the boy's sister had kept him locked in the room under Joliff's orders since early 2008.