Police detailed a bizarre scene Wednesday night while announcing the arrest of a Jacksonville father on a charge of aggravated child abuse for imprisoning his son inside his home for the past three years.

Randall Warren Piercy, 41, was accused of the torture and malicious punishment of the boy.

As officers walked Piercy into the Jacksonville jail, he told reporters that he loved his children, and that he was the victim of a vendetta by his in-laws.

"I'm being wrongly accused," Piercy said. "... I love my family very much."

Despite Piercy's claims, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Lt. Annie Smith described ghastly living conditions endured the boy, whose name was not released by police.

She said the Piercy home was a prison, and the child was not allowed to attend school, had no friends, did not receive medical attention, and may have been totally cut off from any human contact other than family. The address was blacked out from a police report, but property tax records show that Piercy and his wife, Michelle, own a home on Eynon Drive.

Piercy's wife had not been charged Wednesday evening, police said. However, police are still investigating her involvement in the case.

An investigator entered the house on Oct. 4 by posing as a real estate investor. There were cameras outside the house, in nearly every room, and watching the bathroom, according to police.

Inside the house, in a hallway, the undercover officer found one door locked by an outside dead bolt. When the investigator went in, he saw the 9-year-old boy, sitting on his bed in his underwear, watching NASCAR. The room smelled of urine, and there was a camera mounted on a wall, aimed at the child's bed. The boy was excited to see his grandfather and asked him to "come back and spend some time with him" according to the report.

The father's room contained what police described as a large television monitor and several computers. The television showed the child's bed.

Family members told police that the boy had to stay locked inside the room unless his father let him out. He was usually allowed one bathroom break per day, as the father was supposedly "teaching" him to control his body.

The boy once had brothers living at the house, a family member told police. Before they moved out, he was kept in an area just big enough for his bed. The boy was kept locked in that area, the family member said.

Piercy told police he kept the child in the room because he "believed it was in the best interest of the child," Smith said. She did not elaborate on that.

As he was escorted to jail, Piercy told reporters that the surveillance cameras were used because of a prior incident but he refused to elaborate. He blamed his wife's parents for the arrest, saying they never liked him.

"I think this is wrong," he said. "I think this is a vendetta her parents have against me."

According to police, the child was "thrilled" to be taken from the home. Smith said the boy told police, "'I have to pinch myself. Days like this only come once in a lifetime.' " As they brought him outside, he was running all around, she said.