The parents of the Detroit, Michigan boy who was reported missing on June 14th, but found hidden in the basement of their home 11 days later were in court today facing charges of Torture and Child abuse.

12-year-old Charlie Bothuell was reported missing in mid-June of 2014 by his father Charles Bothuell of Nicolet Street in Detroit.

Police looked extensively for the young boy and performed three searches of the parent’s home to no avail. Then, on June 25th, while the the elder Bothuell was on the Nancy grace Show, Michigan State Police and the FBI carried out another search of the home and located the boy in the basement of the home. When the boy was found, he was gaunt and appeared to be suffering from malnutrition.

Charles Bothuell appeared surprised and stunned on the show when informed that his son had been located. Hyperventilating and with his eyes darting over the studio, he exclaimed, “What? What?”

Prosecutors allege that the father, Charles,  and stepmother, Monique, systematically abused the child by hitting him with a PVC pipe and subjected him to long workouts that included hundreds of pushup, sit ups and jumping jacks and made him do exercises on an eliptical machine. It is alleged that when the young boy did not complete the required exercises in a one-hour time frame, he was forced to begin again. Prosecutors also said in court that the child was also deprived of food.

In court, the parents appeared via closed circuit TV. The stepmother entered a “Not Guilty” plea for both her and her husband. After their plea, bail was set at $500,000.

The parents face a maximum of four years in prison for the abuse charge and could receive up to life imprisonment on the Torture charge.

Their next court date is February 27th.

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