PROVO, Utah, March 24, 2026 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah County Attorney’s office has charged a Provo woman with felony kidnapping and child abuse after she allegedly convinced a child to get in her car, be driven to her house, and apologize to her son for reportedly bullying him.
Shannon Marie Tufuga, 40, is charged with child kidnapping and aggravated child abuse, both second-degree felonies.
The incident that lead to the charges happened on Sept. 17, 2025, when an 11-year-old boy, identified in court records as K.B., was riding his bike in a Provo neighborhood, court documents say.
Tufuga “was driving around, looking for K.B., wanting to confront him about bullying her child. When the defendant found K.B., she stopped her vehicle in front of K.B.’s bike and made K.B. get into her vehicle.
“The defendant transported K.B. to her home in Provo, without K.B.’s parents’ knowledge or permission, to have K.B. apologize to her child. K.B. apologized. The defendant threatened to have her husband beat up K.B., and said that KB was lucky she did not run over K.B.’s bike. The defendant then took K.B. to his residence.
“The incident has caused K.B. serious emotional distress,” the charging document says. “K.B. now has high anxiety and has had to alter his daily routines significantly since this incident.”
The arrest was based on evidence received from an Orem Police officer, the charging document says.
A summons was issued Monday for Tufuga, who has an initial court appearance scheduled for April 30.
