Father and stepmom charged in case of Detroit boy in basement

DETROIT (AP) — The father and stepmother of a 13-year-old boy were charged today with torture and child abuse in an investigation that began last summer when the boy was discovered among boxes in his father's basement after a highly publicized 11-day search by Detroit police.

Charlie Bothuell IV and Monique Dillard-Bothuell appeared in court by video from jail. Not-guilty pleas were entered by a magistrate, and bond was set at $500,000 each.

Charlie Bothuell V was 12 last June when police found him, describing him as "very thin, with marks on his upper body," the Wayne County prosecutor's office said.

"It is alleged that the parents systematically physically abused the child, forced him to live in the basement and not socialize with others, intentionally deprived him of food and forced him to engage in an extreme and unreasonable exercise regimen," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.