Shannon Marie Tufuga, Provo, Utah mom kidnaps 11-year old boy who was bullying her autistic son, forces child to apologize and threatens to beat him before returning him to his parents home. Incident leaves 11-year-old in serious emotional distress as mom now faces reduced second degree kidnapping and child abuse charges.
A Provo, Utah mother has been arrested months after allegedly kidnapped an 11-year-old boy who she claimed was bullying her autistic son.
Shannon Marie Tufuga, 40, was charged with child kidnapping and aggravated child abuse, KSL reported.
The charges are typically first-degree felonies, but the Utah County Attorney’s Office filed them as reduced second-degree felonies ‘after determining that the reduction would be in the interests of justice.’
Provo mom forced son’s bully to personally apologize to autistic son along with other threats
On September 17, 2025, Tufuga was driving around Provo looking for her son’s alleged bully, identified only by his initials in the charging document filed Monday.
When Tufuga found the boy, she stopped in front of him while he was riding his bike and made him ‘get into her vehicle’, according to the charging document cited by ABC4.
Tufuga then drove the child to her home in Provo without his parents’ consent and forced the boy to apologize to her son.
In Facebook posts that have now been deleted, Tufuga explained that her son is on the autism spectrum.
Even after the boy apologized under Tufuga’s alleged pressure, she still threatened to have her husband beat him up, according to the charging document.
She also told the boy he ‘was lucky she did not run over [his] bike,’ according to the charges.
Tufuga then drove the boy back to his parents’ home in Provo, authorities said.
‘The incident has caused [the boy] serious emotional distress. [He] now has high anxiety and has had to alter his daily routines significantly,’ according to the charges.
Tufuga is not in custody, but a summons has been issued for her to appear at any upcoming court hearings.
The parent has been ordered to appear at the Utah County Jail before April 30 to be fingerprinted and processed.
For the kidnapping charge, a second-degree felony, Tufuga faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in prison if convicted.
