DETROIT – The parents of Charlie Bothuell were back in court Friday for an indigency hearing.
A judge ruled during the hearing that Charles Bothuell IV was not indigent will not be helped with court fees. Monique Dillard-Bothuell will have some fees and costs waived because she currently does not have any income.
Both defendants were fitted with a GPS tether last week with regular restrictions, but on Friday the judge granted them free movement daily from 8 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. in order to grant more time to meet with their attorneys.
A preliminary examination is scheduled for March 27. The defendants will be in court together for that examination.
Bothuell IV and his wife pled not guilty to charges of torture and second degree child abuse. Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy instructed both parents not to have any contact with Charlie or any other children.
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.
Allegations against the parents came last June, when Bothuell IV reported his son missing. Charlie was found days later behind boxes in the basement of their home in the 1300 block of Nicolet Place.
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.
In August, while Dillard-Bothuell 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.
Bothuell IV was released from jail earlier this week after posting $5,000 in bond. The jail had a hold on Dillard-Bothuell because of a probation violation that has no bond. Her mother posted her bond later in the week.