DETROIT – Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy charged Charles Bothuell IV, and his wife, Monique Dillard-Bothuell, with Torture and second degree Child Abuse Friday morning. Both entered not guilty pleas.
View: Timeline of Charlie Bothuell's disappearance
Allegations against the parents of Charlie Bothuell came in June, 2014, when Bothuell IV called the police to report his 12-year-old son missing. Charlie was found behind boxes in the basement of the home in the 1300 block of Nicolet Place in Detroit on June 25.
"We are thankful that the victim was found alive," Worthy said. "This is the first time that the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office has charged torture for a living child. Based upon the allegations, if any case warrants child torture charges, this one certainly does."
Worthy instructed both parents not to make contact with Charlie.
It is alleged that the parents physically abused Charlie, forced him to live in the basement without socialization, intentionally deprived him of food and forced him through an extreme and unreasonable exercise regime.
Related: Bothuell in battle over home ownership
Charlie's parents have each been charged with one count of Torture and second degree child abuse. Torture is a felony that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Second degree child abuse carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison.
After Charlie was found, Bothuell IV said he didn't know his son was in the basement of his home. He said he was "shocked" that his son was hiding in his home after he and police searched extensively for the missing boy.
"For anybody to imply that I somehow knew that my son was in the basement is absurd and it's wrong," Bothuell IV said. "I love my son. I'm glad that he's home, and he's going to have the great future that he deserves to have, period."
Police say Charlie was found very thin with marks on his upper body. Police Chief James Craig said that investigators moved a large container and "Charlie was crouching" in the hidden area. He described the barricade hiding Charlie as a "five-gallon drum."
Charlie was released to his biological mother on June 26 after being examined by police. He was not allowed to see his father or stepmother.
In August, while Dillard-Bouthuell was in court for a gun probation issue unrelated to Charlie's disappearance, a court document revealed that investigators believed the boy was abused and that his stepmother put him in the basement and told him to stay there while police searched for him.
Read: Case petition says Charlie Bothuell was abused with a PVC pipe
The trial against Charlie's parents was delayed in September at the request of their lawyers.
His parents were arrested by Detroit police Friday morning and were arraigned at 10:30. A probably cause conference is scheduled for Feb. 27.