Detroit boy reported "missing" will get psych evaluation

DETROIT - The 12-year-old Detroit boy who was reported "missing" for almost two weeks before being found in his basement has been ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation, to determine whether it is in his best interest to visit with his father, reports the Detroit Free Press.

A petition filed in Michigan's Wayne County juvenile court detailed abuse accusations made by the boy, Charlie Bothuell V, against his father, Charlie Bothuell IV, and stepmother, Monique Dillard-Bothuell, according to the paper. The boy, who was found in the basement of his father's Detroit home on June 25 after being reported missing 11 days earlier, is now living with his mother.

Charlie was found while his father was appearing live on air with television journalist Nancy Grace.

Juvenile court referee Nicholas Bobak ordered the evaluation Thursday. Bobak continued hearings on the petition made on behalf of the youth, as well as another regarding the boy's two siblings, ages 4 and 10 months.

The Free Press reports the Department of Human Services is requesting the court terminate Charlie Bothuell IV's parental rights and place the child with his mother. The petition concerning the younger children seeks to terminate the parental rights of both Bothuell and Dillard-Bothuell and to place the children with DHS.

Bothuell and Dillard-Bothuell were present at the hearing, according to the paper.

Charlie was found last month behind a barricade set up in the basement of his father's apartment on Detroit's east side. The petition states he was found "shivering and hungry." The boy told authorities he was made to work out - 100 pushups, 200 sit-ups, 100 jumping jacks, 25 curls on each arm with a 25-pound weight and thousands of revolutions on an elliptical machine - twice a day, every day.

The petition, obtained Wednesday by the Free Press, also detailed allegations of abuse Charlie made against his father and stepmother in interviews conducted July 1 by the FBI. The boy told authorities he had been disciplined with a PVC pipe by his father, who Charlie said abused him "for the entire two years" he lived with him. He also said his stepmother had punched him and would make statements such as, "I can make you disappear."

Charlie also said his stepmother was the one who put him in the basement on June 14 after allegedly accusing him of lying about completing his workout for the evening.

Dillard-Bothuell's attorney denied the accusations against against the stepmom, the Free Press reports.

A decision has yet to be made on the parental rights issue. In the meantime, Charlie will continue to live with his mother.