WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Jupiter father who locked his adopted son in a box-like structure in the garage of their home won't be released from jail while he awaits sentencing.
Judge Howard Coates has denied a request by the defense team for Tim Ferriter to be released on house arrest ahead of next month's sentencing hearing. His ruling came in the form of a written order issued Friday.
Ferriter was convicted earlier this month on charges of child abuse, child neglect and false imprisonment.
Defense attorney Khurrum Wahid said during a hearing last week that his client would surrender his passport, agree to wear a monitoring device and would continue to reside in Palm Beach County. He also said Ferriter shouldn't be considered a flight risk and no longer has custody of any of his children.
However, Assistant State Attorney Brianna Coakley said Ferriter, who had been out on bond since his February 2022 arrest, now faces up to 40 years in prison, "which is a substantially significant posture" than when he was on pre-trial release.
Coakley also claimed that Ferriter has since sold his Jupiter home and his attorneys had not provided an address where their client would be staying.
Coates wrote in his ruling that the defense failed to provide any evidence to suggest that Ferriter would not be a flight risk. Coates said that with the home's sale, "a significant local attachment to the community no longer exists."
"This fact, coupled with the fact that Defendant only returned to Florida from Arizona shortly before the abuse occurred in Florida, leaves the Court with the significant concern that nothing exists to prevent Defendant from making a quick exit from the community having sold his one significant real property asset that anchored him to the community," Coates wrote.
Coakley also refuted the claim that Ferriter doesn't have contact with any of the children, noting that the youngest child was adopted by his wife's parents.
"The import of this to the Court is that the normal strong incentive to remain close to one's children that would exist with an intact family no longer exists here, adding to the Court's concern of there being nothing to incentivize Defendant not to flee the jurisdiction," Coates wrote.
Coates concluded that "the risk of a substantial and severe sentence poses a powerful incentive for Defendant to flee the jurisdiction and represents a substantial change in circumstances the Defendant faced pre-trial versus the circumstances and reality he now faces post-conviction and adjudication."
Ferriter's sentencing is set for Nov. 16.
"We're disappointed about the court's ruling," defense attorney Prya Murad told WPTV in a statement. "Though we understand it is more challenging to get a bond set after a guilty verdict, Tim is an ideal candidate. He was willing to surrender his passport to alleviate any concerns. It's an undisputed fact he had no violations while out on bond pre-trial and doesn't have custody of any of the children. If anyone deserved the court's discretion, it was Tim. However, we have faced challenges in this case from the beginning and will keep fighting at every turn."
His wife, Tracy Ferriter, is facing the same charges and still awaiting trial.
