# Utah mother arrested for kidnapping her child's bully (both aged 11) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 25, 2026, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772 "2026-03-25T23:11:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/1 "2026-03-25T23:11:53Z")
I’m going to admit, based on different sources, that this isn’t the whole story (among other things, it sounds like she did not talk to the bully’s parents first) but in this case, last September, she drove around looking for him, and when she saw him on his bike, shoved him off, grabbed his arm, pushed him into her car, and drove him to her house and made him apologize to her daughter. One thing she DEFINITELY did wrong was telling the boy that her husband was going to beat him up, which IMHO was the husband’s job. One source did say that SHE had been bullying HIM and he finally retaliated, and if that’s true, it could potentially be an Everyone Sucks Here case. Anyway, I found this story potentially important enough to mention here. (Had my parents kidnapped my bullies, instead of blaming me for it and saying I did it to embarrass them, I would have recommended that they be given some kind of Good Neighbor medals.) [https://www.abc4.com/news/crimes-against-children/provo-woman-charged-child-kidnapping-bully/?fbclid=IwY2xjawQxRkhleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFVeDBLcWdLU1ZScnZwdUpYc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHtzSYhL0zWVXH-2mt78uNqIW0Na7n-RYmzFEOjLr0bkRdRIVM\_jI\_pwj\_NX-\_aem\_nScAF1iJZfp8rDa2Rn7VHQ](https://www.abc4.com/news/crimes-against-children/provo-woman-charged-child-kidnapping-bully/?fbclid=IwY2xjawQxRkhleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFVeDBLcWdLU1ZScnZwdUpYc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHtzSYhL0zWVXH-2mt78uNqIW0Na7n-RYmzFEOjLr0bkRdRIVM_jI_pwj_NX-_aem_nScAF1iJZfp8rDa2Rn7VHQ) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/2 "2026-03-25T23:18:53Z")
Sounds like a good candidate for the omnibus stupid MFs thread. Also sounds like it’s omnidirectional stupid MFs in this case. Whole lotta losers; no winners. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/3 "2026-03-25T23:20:45Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > (Had my parents kidnapped my bullies, instead of blaming me for it and saying I did it to embarrass them, I would have recommended that they be given some kind of Good Neighbor medals.) I think it’s safe to say that both of those are the wrong response to one’s child being bullied. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/4 "2026-03-25T23:42:52Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > to beat him up, which IMHO was the husband’s job. No, it is not any adults job to beat up a kid- unless I misunderstand you? My Dad taught me to box and then talked to the School Superintendents office. But that was before school bullying was recognized as the real problem it is. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/5 "2026-03-26T01:58:33Z")
My point was that if the husband WAS going to beat the kid up, HE should have been the one to say that, KWIM? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/6 "2026-03-26T02:03:26Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > One source did say that SHE had been bullying HIM and he finally retaliated, and if that’s true, it could potentially be an Everyone Sucks Here case. If the young boy was being bullied by the girl, finally stood up for himself, and got kidnapped and threatened by her parents, how does he suck? ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/7 "2026-03-26T20:51:35Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > One thing she DEFINITELY did wrong was telling the boy that her husband was going to beat him up, which IMHO was the husband’s job. So you are OK with an adult threatening to beat up an 11-year-old? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/8 "2026-03-26T21:28:19Z")
At my parents’ request, I once confronted my little brother’s bully. It was the first time my brother - the most likeable person I have ever known, then and now - had ever been bullied, and he was completely nonplussed at how to respond. So I came up to the bully after school, told him to leave my brother alone, and that if he messed with one of us, he was messing with both of us. I didn’t threaten him, technically, but I won’t deny that it was implied. He was 9 years old. I was 23. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t a nice thing to do. The thing is… it worked. The bully left my brother alone, immediately, and I later heard they had become sort-of friends, or at least friendly. I even heard that he became a better student. So yeah, the mother went too far, but I respect her initiative. Family looks after each other. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/9 "2026-03-26T21:44:22Z")
This reminds me of Michael Scott kidnapping the pizza delivery kid for not accepting a coupon in that episode of _the Office_. I wonder if she even realized this was actually kidnapping when she did it. Here is a video on this story from local news: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/A3RkY6c_VBE/maxresdefault.jpg "Mom accused of kidnapping boy for apology") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3RkY6c_VBE) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2026, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/10 "2026-03-27T01:16:00Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > So you are OK with an adult threatening to beat up an 11-year-old? Yeah, that was my point. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2026, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/11 "2026-03-27T22:16:10Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > My Dad taught me to box and then talked to the School Superintendents office. But that was before school bullying was recognized as the real problem it is. My parents arranged for me to fight my bully in front of our house, then set up lawn chairs and watched. Nothing much came from it. She hit me, I kicked her in self-defense, I told her I didn’t want to fight her, asked her if she had received Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior, and then watched her walk away. I had a weird childhood. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2026, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/12 "2026-03-27T22:31:50Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I had a weird childhood. So did I, but at least not a bad one. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/13 "2026-03-27T23:02:37Z")
Yeah, the dad threatening to beat up the boy wouldn’t be right either. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2026, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/14 "2026-03-27T23:34:23Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > she drove around looking for him, and when she saw him on his bike, shoved him off, grabbed his arm, pushed him into her car, and drove him to her house and made him apologize to her daughter. Yup, that definitely sounds like kidnapping to me. Even if she’d politely asked him to go he arguably would have no choice because of the power differential. I’m fine with this woman getting some jail time. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/15 "2026-04-14T02:44:11Z")
I stand corrected. This is definitely a very complicated situation, with multiple sides. The kidnapping mom, BTW, no longer works as a school crossing guard (!). > **[Provo boy’s family breaks silence after kidnapping charges filed against...](https://ksltv.com/local-news/kidnapping-provo-boy/892319/)** > > A mother in Provo is speaking out after another mother at her son's school allegedly kidnapped him to force his apology to her daughter. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/16 "2026-04-14T07:18:39Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > This is definitely a very complicated situation, with multiple sides. It sounds like it’s he said / she said, but that still doesn’t her actions. Even if everything was exactly as she said, you just can’t kidnap children. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/17 "2026-04-14T15:29:10Z")
This reminds me: some woman threatened to kick my 10 year old grandson’s ass because he was “bullying” her daughter. At least what my grandson said is that the woman’s daughter kept calling his mom (my daughter) fat and ugly, and he finally told the girl that at least his mom wasn’t abusive. She told her mom and and that was the outcome. I don’t know what went on between the kids, but it sounds like my grandson. He’s pretty stoic until unduly provoked, but I wasn’t there. Whatever the case: stopping your car in the street getting out, and threatening a 10 year old is umm, inappropriate to say the least. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utah-mother-arrested-for-kidnapping-her-childs-bully-both-aged-11/1028772/18 "2026-04-14T15:53:50Z")
I’m all in favor of resisting and defeating bullies. Just stay on this side of the law is all I ask. When I was getting bullied, the advice I got was to learn from _[The Over-the-Hill Gang](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064780/?ref_=fn_t_1)_ (a TV Western) how to defeat a more powerful enemy through cunning. Of course, that was a movie script, not real life. Not especially helpful.