An Illinois father who filmed himself putting his three-year-old son in the trunk of his car claimed the incident was all part of a social experiment that went horribly awry.
Boguslaw Matlak, 28, and his partner, Laura Quijano, were seen in their own video recording as they spoke about the experiment before Matlak acted upon it in front of witnesses outside the Panera Bread in Norridge on September 2.
‘You’re gonna play a game… you’re gonna go in the trunk and you’re gonna play like daddy is mad – but he’s not really mad,’ the mother told her son in the clip obtained by NBC Chicago.
The child then got out of his seat and told his mother: ‘I’m so excited!’
Dad Boguslaw Matlak was arrested and charged with child endangerment after he recorded himself putting his three-year-old son in his truck
Matlak, however, claims the incident was all part of a social experiment
The incident happened in front of witnesses outside the Panera Bread in Norridge on September 2
It wasn’t long before police were called and Matlak was arrested
Matlak stood in the back of the car parked in the lot of the Panera as his son walked his way.
Matlak placed the child in the trunk as several concerned people walked by the vehicle and confronted him. It wasn’t long before police were called.
When police arrived, Matlak told them the child was not in danger and the incident was for an experiment to see whether the public would react appropriately to a child in danger.
But the explanation didn’t spare him.
The father was arrested and charged with one count of misdemeanor child endangerment as a result.
The incident further resulted in the couple losing custody of their three-year-old and an investigation from child services.
Mom Laura Quijano spoke to her child about the experiment beforehand
‘You’re gonna play a game,’ the mother is heard telling her son in the clip
The father explained his intentions of the video while speaking to NBC this week.
‘I was thinking… maybe I should do a video, to show people, maybe they should do something about it when they see something wrong,’ he told NBC.
Matlak said he was ‘in shock’ when he got arrested. He is seen above in his mugshot
Matlak said he didn’t expect the outcome and was ‘in shock’ when he got arrested.
The child is currently living with another family member.
Mom Quijano told NBC: ‘We have provided them with all of the proof that this was not real, that my son was not in danger.
‘They are hurting my son emotionally at this point… he is not home with his parents, who love him very much.’
The couple’s attorney also backed the couple while speaking to the station.
‘Anybody can make a poor decision. Every error in judgement made by a parent doesn’t equal abuse and neglect,’ Rina Infelise said.
Matlak will appear in court Friday to answer to the charge against him.
The couple are shown above as they play the footage to an NBC Chicago reporter