Left: Jon Thompson (Washington County Sheriff’s Office). Right: Images of the closet where Thompson kept his daughter (Tontitown Police Department).
An Arkansas father who kept his daughter hidden in a “void” in his home to keep the state from taking custody of her was sentenced to prison.
Jon Thompson, a 42-year-old man, admitted to charges of false imprisonment, interference with custody, possession of drug paraphernalia, criminal possession of body armor, and failing to appear in court the day before his trial, as reported by local CBS affiliate KFSM. Additionally, he faced a charge of endangering the welfare of a minor, which was later dismissed under the terms of his plea agreement.
In November 2023, Thompson’s arrest followed a custody dispute involving his then-5-year-old daughter that led to a showdown with law enforcement at his residence, with officials from the state’s Department of Human Services present. Court documents revealed that Thompson’s daughter was discovered concealed in a small, triangular space during the incident.
According to previous coverage by Law&Crime, Thompson had been served a court order on November 1, 2023, directing him to surrender his daughter to state custody. However, he defied the order, prompting authorities to converge on his parents’ residence, where he had hidden his daughter. An affidavit cited by Law&Crime described Thompson, known for evading law enforcement, as uncooperative with the responding officers.
According to the affidavit, Thompson told police that his daughter was not in the home and refused to allow officers inside. He claimed that an earlier court order gave him custody of the girl, but officers presented him with the updated order and he allowed them to come into the home.
When police entered the residence, Thompson led them to a walk-in closet and knelt down in front of what was revealed to be a false wall. In a moment caught on police body camera, he knocked on the wall and called to his daughter, telling her that it was him. He then pulled away the false wall, which had been nailed down, and allowed the frightened girl out.
The affidavit said the girl was in the “confined space,” which was about 8-by-4-feet in size, “for approximately 30 minutes without being able to leave of her own will.” Police said she was safe.
Thompson was sentenced to four years in prison plus a six-year suspended sentence.
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