The Michigan boy, who was found after 11-days in his family’s basement, said in court that his stepmother told him to hide and remain quiet when authorities came to look for him.
Reuters noted that Charlie Bothuell V, now 13, testified that his stepmother, Monique Dillard-Bothuell led him down the basement of the family’s Detroit home to hide. He told the court that she even ordered him to be quiet when the police arrived to search the home for him.
"I didn't know what was going to happen to me if I didn't listen," the boy said.
As previously reported, the testimony by the child is part of an ongoing hearing to determine if Dillard-Bothuell and the boy’s father, Charles Bothuell IV, will face child abuse charges.
Last week, the boy alleged that he was abused and tortured while in the home. He went into detail about painful experiences that he said his father and stepmother made him endure.
Prosecutors have maintained that Bothuell and his wife did not abuse the youngster and have said he is lying.
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