Kansas man Robert McDowell arrested for shocking autistic teen with jumper cables

KWCH obtained security video from a neighbor’s home that shows the suspect, later identified as Robert McDowell, walking down an alley with the teen.

Police Lt. James Espinoza says the person led the teen to a garage and tied him to a trailer hitch attached to a van.

McDowell allegedly brought the unidentified boy to his residence where he tied the 15-year-old up with his own shoelaces and clipped jumper cables to his ears. He then took jumper cables and shocked the boy on the ears.

For now, the family says they’ll keep a close eye on the teen.

Police say the suspect made comments that he was robbed by the 15-year-old boy’s friends.

“You can’t do anything”.

The suspect eventually released the boy, who ran home and told his father what happened. “You feel discriminated… just helpless and really, really enraged is I guess all I can say”, she added. He was taken to a hospital.

Robert McDowell, 58, was in a Sedgwick County, Kansas, jail on Tuesday on aggravated battery to cause great bodily harm, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault and criminal threat charges in the incident, according to official booking details posted online.