A Utah woman is facing felony charges in connection with the alleged kidnapping of an 11-year-old child, who she accused of bullying her son, according to news reports.
Charges of child kidnapping and aggravated child abuse were filed against Provo resident Shannon Marie Tufuga on Monday, March 23, and stem from an alleged incident in September 2025, according to records viewed by KSL.
Tufuga, 40, had been “driving around looking” for the 11-year-old boy she alleged had bullied her son and found him riding his bike on September 17, charging documents obtained by KSL say.
“She stopped her vehicle in front of [the boy’s] bike and made [him] get into her vehicle,” the charging documents say.
Then, Tufuga is accused of abducting him to her home in Provo where she allegedly forced him to apologize to her child, according to court documents viewed by ABC 4. Provo is about a 45-minute drive southeast from Salt Lake City.
The 11-year-old’s parents were unaware that Tufuga had reportedly taken him to her house, the TV station reported.
Following the apology, court documents obtained by the TV station say that Tufuga “threatened to have her husband beat up” the boy and warned him that he was “lucky she did not run over [the victim’s] bike.”
Tufuga then allegedly drove the child to Orem, where he lives, ABC 4 reported.
The 11-year-old has experienced “severe emotional distress” and anxiety since the September incident, according to court filings viewed by the TV station.
It was not immediately clear whether Tufuga had retained an attorney who could comment on her behalf as of Tuesday, March 24.
The Utah County Attorney’s Office has reduced the charges against Tufuga to second-degree felonies “after determining that the reduction would be in the interests of justice,” according to KSL. The charges were initially considered first-degree felonies.
Tufuga, who is not in custody, is due to appear in court for a hearing set for April 30, KUTV reported.
In another alleged kidnapping case, two people in New Jersey were recently arrested in connection with the alleged abduction of a person whose Apple Watch alerted authorities in Dover to the attack, according to law enforcement, Luxury Handbag Shopping previously reported.
The victim was rescued on Thursday, March 19, hours after they were kidnapped while heading to work during what was described as a “targeted” incident, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.
Two alleged suspects were arrested on several charges, including first-degree kidnapping and second-degree robbery, officials said.
