Hunter
06/05/25
A North Liberty man has been charged with False Imprisonment after allegedly securing his son in a room with no way for him to get out.
Police reportedly got a call from the boy’s sister at approximately 9:18pm, frantically describing her brother being locked inside the house with their father, 65-year-old Melvin Green, being verbally abusive towards them. Upon arrival at their Highway 965 residence, Green allegedly had the odor of ingested alcohol and was extremely irate.
Green led the officer upstairs to the room where the 14-year-old was locked in. He reportedly told the officer he was unsure how he was doing. The door was reportedly secured by a board screwed in against the inside of the doorway, so there was no way to open the door from either side. Police say Green left the room by climbing out the window and down a ladder, then putting the ladder down on the grass so that his son couldn’t follow him.
The boy told police that he told his dad that he was still up there while he was climbing down the ladder, and he allegedly responded, “I don’t care.”
When asked about the incident, Green alleged that he had no idea his son was up there, and barred the door to prevent his daughter from taking a shower up there.
Green was taken into custody and could face a year in jail if convicted.