A Utah teenager has gone viral after barricading himself and his sister in a bedroom to avoid being reunited with their father. Ty Larson, 15, has more than 50,000 followers on TikTok, where he posts under the handle @stupid_flipper. Ty claims that his father, Brent Joel Larson, sexually abused him and his 12-year-old sister, Brynlee, and although the courts are trying to reunite them, he is doing his best to stay away.
Ty is making a name for himself on social media as he posts about his father's alleged abuse, and in one video he says he barricaded himself in his bedroom to stay away from their father. According to the courts, the children must be released to their father's custody despite their claims. According to the New York Post, judge Derek Pullan authorized police to use "reasonable force" to remove the children from their home, which included breaking down locked doors.
Ty claims his father abused him until he was 10.
In a series of TikTok videos, Ty alleges that he underwent physical, sexual, and emotional abuse from his father, Brent Larson, from age 3 until he was 10. He reported the abuse then and was removed from his biological father's home.
He explains that he is almost 16 now and has dealt with the courts for nearly five years. He claims to have been "interviewed by DCFS thousands of times it feels like, cops, police officers, anything, I've been interviewed by them," he says in one now-viral video.
The courts want Ty, his sister, and their father to go through reunification.
Ty alleges that the courts want his family to go through reunification so they can have a relationship with their biological father. He believes that as a teenager, his opinions about who he lives with should be considered.
"My own word does not matter and they don't believe my truth," he says in the clip.
Police attempted to remove the children from their mother's home in December 2022.
According to a report from ProPublica, police went to the mother's home in December to attempt to remove the children. Still, they opted against breaking down the door because of the "potentially combustible situation," according to court records obtained by the news outlet.
Police asked for clarification and were told to use force, but they have not returned to the home to take the children.
The children's father was found guilty of abusing the children.
In 2018, Utah's Division of Child and Family Services found that Brent Larson did abuse his children and that the abuse was "severe & chronic," according to ProPublica.
Brent Larson was restricted from being with his children alone and saw them a few times a month under supervision. The news outlet reported that there was also a 150-day restraining order that stopped him from having contact with the children at the time.
Authorities are investigating new allegations.
The Salt Lake County District Attorney's office is investigating new allegations of abuse but declined comment to ProPublica expounding on the charges. In another investigation in February 2021, prosecutors did not have enough evidence against Brent Larson, so the investigation stalled. Brent Larson's attorney, Ron Wilkinson, says the claims are unfounded.
'"There have been similar false claims — repeatedly, for years. The stories continue to change and expand each time — always about the same events," Wilkinson told ProPublica.
The children's mother, Jessica Zhart, is accused of brainwashing the children, causing "parental alienation," because she is allowing the children to stay at her home.
The family fears for their lives.
Ty alleges that his father said he would kill his mother and Brynlee if he told anyone about the abuse, ProPublica reported. Ty says that he is in the room to remain safe and that his mother passes the children's food through a hole in the bathroom.
According to a court report obtained by ProPublica, the judge thoroughly reviewed the evidence in the case before ruling on reunification. A hearing is required before that takes place.
Ty claims that "The court system isn't trying to save us, Nobody's trying to keep us safe."
