Charlie Bothuell V, the boy who was reported missing, only to be found 10 days later in his parents’ basement, is set to testify against his father and his stepmother, detailing the alleged abuse he suffered, reports the Detroit Free Press in USA Today.
Charlie, who has since turned 13, told investigators that he was beaten with a polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, pipe and forced into the basement. He also had to endure an impossible workout routine, which he would have to finish in a set amount of time or be forced to begin again.
His father, Charlie Bothuell IV, and his stepmother, Monique Dillard-Bothuell, are facing charges of child abuse and torture as a result of the allegations, the Free Press notes.
“He was subjected to more than one kind of child abuse. He was subjected to child physical abuse and he was also subjected to child psychological abuse,” Dr. Dena Nazer, the chief of the Child Protection Team at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, testified on the first day.
On Thursday the court will hear testimony from another officer and the young Bothuell before the county district judge makes a decision as to whether to move the case to trial.
According to the Free Press, the father’s attorney, Shawn Patrick Smith, has called the child a “liar” previously, insisting that the story is made up and that the boy was not in the basement for 10 days.
Read more at USA Today.