Tammy Hinds (Storey County Sheriff”s Office).
A Nevada mother who locked up her son for over a year in a small room stocked with only a bucket to use as a bathroom is headed to prison.
Tammy Hinds received a prison sentence ranging from two to five years, as decreed by the Storey County District Court. In April, Hinds admitted guilt to the charge of being a principal in child neglect.
At the age of 34, Hinds, along with her mother Nancy Hinds, was taken into custody in May 2024. This occurred after police officers, performing a welfare check at a residence on Tunnel Road in Gold Hill, discovered a 14-year-old boy confined in a small room. The boy needed immediate medical assistance.
“The investigation showed that the child lacked access to bathroom facilities, food, and water,” stated the Storey County Sheriff’s Office in a press release issued at that time.
According to a courtroom report from Reno NBC affiliate KRNV, deputies on scene “detected a strong odor of human urine and waste.” The room was reportedly located over the garage where he was forced to stay 23 hours a day and was only let out for an hour to eat and go to the bathroom.
The boy and his sister were put into the custody of the Department of Child and Family Services.
Tammy and Nancy Hinds were both originally charged with child abuse or neglect and false imprisonment. The elder Hinds’ case remains ongoing.
Tammy Hinds addressed the court before being sentenced.
“I failed as a parent for both my kids,” she reportedly said.
Her son, now 15, also testified at the hearing via Zoom.
“I’m not scared of my mother anymore,” he said, according to KRNV.
The TV station interviewed Nancy Hinds earlier this year.
She had this reaction to the boy being placed in foster care: “I’m fine with that because he destroyed our family,” she said.
Nancy Hinds said the boy had no physical ailments but was “mental” and had “lots of issues.”
The boy’s foster parents told KRNV he is doing much better physically and mentally since he was removed from his mother’s home.
