Dustin Michael Huff, 35, and Yurui Xie, 31, are employees of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida, United States. They have two children born in 2017 and in 2021.
In December 2017, the university hired Huff as a full-time biological scientist in the university’s horticultural sciences department. In June 2019, the university hired Xie as a full-time manager of the university’s plant pathology department.
While employed by the university, Huff and Xie allegedly created makeshift cages for their two children. The cages had rails and springs that could cause harm to the children if they moved inside.
Xie and Huff allegedly would leave their first child, a boy, alone in the house. Recently, the boy told his teacher that he did not want to go home because his father built a cage to lock him in while his mother was at work.
An officer with the police department of Gainesville, Alachua County went to Xie and Huff’s residence. The officer found out that the couple kept their first child in a cage whenever the boy was not at school.
On December 8, 2023, Huff and Xie were arrested. They were each charged with child abuse and child neglect and their children were turned over to the Department of Children and Families (DCF).
The University of Florida has placed Huff and Xie on administrative leave. Judge George Wright set bail for each of the two at $600,000.
CONAN Daily 