Parents force teen to live in tent as punishment

BELEN, NM -- A community is divided after learning a 16-year-old boy is being forced to live in a tent in his parent's backyard.

The parents say it was a punishment created for the teen because they are simply out of options.

"We're not doing anything wrong here," father Jacob Boggus says. "We're simply trying to teach our child a lesson. If he doesn't learn that now, it's gonna be the whole world's problem, not just ours in a couple of years."

The Boggus family says their son has been stealing from the family, and have exhausted all other punishments to no avail.

While the teen is permitted to sleep inside the house at night, during the day he is supposed to live inside the tent.

His parents say he is fed and has all the water he needs, plus he can use the bathroom in the house.

"We are trying to do the best we can," mother Angela Boggus says.

Some of their neighbors see the punishment as excessive, and reported the family to the Sheriff's office.

Deputies say there is nothing illegal with the punishment.