By Hannah Dreyfus | Salt Lake Tribune
Two siblings in Utah have barricaded themselves in a bedroom at their mother’s home in defiance of a judge’s order to return to the custody of their father, despite state child welfare investigators determining that he had sexually abused the children.
The judge has authorized police to use “reasonable force” — including entry into locked rooms — against Brynlee Larson, 12, and Ty Larson, 15. Ty has spent the last month livestreaming on TikTok to call attention to their case.
The showdown is the fallout from the latest family court battle over “parental alienation” — a disputed psychological theory in which one parent is accused of brainwashing a child to turn them against the other parent.
“This certainly poses a difficult situation because abuse and alienation are both very real and serious issues. However, the best interests of the children is paramount and the court should hold an emergency hearing so the judge can discern the truth of the matter asserted in both allegations as quickly as possible.” – Aaric Siesco, family lawyer at Rose Law Group
