Submitted by Shannon on 16th October, 02:59AM

A 41-year old man is facing charges after it emerged that he kept his son locked up as a prisoner for three years, monitoring his every move on a network of surveillance cameras.

Police say the 9-year-old boy was kept locked in his bedroom, not attending school and never receiving medical attention.

According to relatives, he was only allowed to use the bathroom once a day, because his father was trying to teach him bodily control.

There were reportedly cameras in every room in the house, which the father, Randall Warren Piercy of Florida, would monitor on television and computer screens.

Piercy is now in jail, on £1million bail. He denies doing anything wrong, and says that the accusations are because of a vendetta with relatives.

The boy's mother, Michelle Piercy, defended the set-up, saying that the boy was hyperactive, needed to be locked in his room to prevent him wandering off and hurting himself, and the CCTV cameras were so they could make sure he didn't harm himself.

'We are very protective', she said.

Police are still investigating the mother's role in the situation – reports suggest that the father only allowed her to see the child for an hour a day.