A Detroit boy, who was found in his father’s basement last summer after 11 days, took the stand Tuesday and testified that he was abused and tortured by his father and stepmother.
According to CBS Detroit, Charlie Bothuell V, now 13, said that he was regularly abused by his father Charlie Bothuell IV and sometimes by his stepmother Monique Dillard-Bothuell.
He said that he slept on a couch in the den, was home-schooled and could only see his friends when he was allowed to go outside to a grocery store.
He claimed that his father had spanked him with wooden sticks and a plastic PVC pipe till his skin was broken.
“I would get whooped on the butt, and sometimes on the sides…it hurt,” the boy said of the alleged abuse by his father. “Sometimes crying, trying to convince my dad to stop…I told him ‘please stop.'”
Bothuell V also said that his stepmother allegedly “punched” and “chocked him.”
As previously reported, the child was found in the basement after an 11-day search for him last July. When told the news, the elder Bothuell acted as if he was shocked that his son was found there, however, the boy maintains that his father made him go into the basement.
Tuesday’s hearing was to determine if his father and stepmother will stand trial for torture and child abuse.
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