A Pontiac couple, Auturo Bazan-Perez and his wife Dulce Crystal Bazan Castillo, have been charged with child abuse and torture involving their two sons, ages 9 and 11. Police said the boys were given limited meals of rice and kept in a bedroom with windows that were painted over and screwed shut, according to ClickOnDetroit.
The elder child weighed 43 pounds while the younger was at a mere 33 pounds at the time of hospitalization, which is severely underweight for their ages. Authorities began the investigation when the 9-year-old was taken to a local hospital in cardiac arrest due to malnutrition. "It’s unconscionable that anyone, let alone parents, would willfully starve children," Karen McDonald, Oakland County Prosecutor, said in a statement obtained by WXYZ.
Two boys are in stable condition after being hospitalized, and their parents and adult brother, Carlos Bazan-Hernandez, are charged with first-degree child abuse and torture. Two other children, ages 1 and 4, were also found in the home and appeared healthy. The case has renewed discussion about a proposal that would require verification of a child’s safety before they can be unenrolled from school. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said, "The suffering these children endured might have been stopped sooner had the legislation I called on the Legislature to pass been enacted," as reported by FOX 2 Detroit. Court dates are set for December 4 for a probable cause conference and December 11 for a preliminary examination in the 50th District Court.
