Father watching 'Dark Knight' leaves son in car

SOUTH SALT LAKE — A father who went to a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight" and left his 2-year-old son in the car was arrested early Sunday.

David Farnham, 23, went to a movie at Century 16 Theaters, 125 E. 3300 South, late Saturday night. About 1:22 a.m. Sunday, other moviegoers noticed a young boy who had been left in a car in the theater's parking lot for a long time, said South Salt Lake police detective Gary Keller.

When police arrived to investigate, they discovered the boy was left alone in the car for more than two hours, Keller said. The boy was thirsty when officers arrived, but otherwise unharmed.

Farnham left the windows rolled up "so the child would not be taken out," according to a jail report. The temperature inside the car when the boy was removed was estimated to be 87 degrees, the jail report stated.

The boy was turned over to the Christmas Box House and later released to his mother, Keller said. The father, Farnham, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of second-degree felony child abuse.