Homeschooling’s 

Invisible Children

Charlie Bothuell V

Content note: Case narratives include descriptions of severe violence inflicted on children, including abuse and neglect, sexual violence, torture, and murder, as well as mentions of suicide and domestic violence. They also include photos of victims and perpetrators of violence.

charlie bothuell
Charlie Bothuell V, age 12, was physically and emotionally abused by his father, Charlie Bothuell IV, and his stepmother, Monique Dillard-Bothuell. Dillard-Bothuell also imprisoned Charlie in the basement for eleven days without food. Dillard-Bothuell’s other two children, 4-year-old Charles Luc Bothuell and 10-month-old Lillian Monique Bothuell, were also neglected. Charlie was homeschooled.

Charlie had lived with his father since 2012. Bothuell forced Charlie to complete an extreme daily exercise regimen and beat him regularly with a PVC pipe. When he was rescued, Charlie had a large scar on his chest from the beatings. Dillard-Bothuell also punched Charlie and threatened to kill him. On June 14, as punishment for Charlie’s failure to complete his exercise routine, Dillard-Bothuell forced him to hide behind a barricade in the basement without food or water, threatening to harm him if he came out. The boy’s father reported him missing and police searched for Charlie until he was found in the basement on June 25.

On June 26, Dillard-Bothuell was arrested on an unrelated charge until police could gather enough evidence to file charges of child abuse against the couple. All three children were removed from the home by social services.

Date: June 25, 2014
Location:
Detroit, Michigan

Documents: Date:
Missing boy: Stepmom put me in the basement 06-27-2014
Bothuell daughter: Abuse allegations ‘ridiculous’ 07-07-2014
Psych evaluation to help decide if boy found in basement can see dad 07-10-2014
Detroit boy found in basement tells of daily abuse 07-10-2014
The ordeal of Charlie Bothuell, the ‘missing’ boy found in family basement 07-11-2014
Boy Found in Basement Alleges Long-Term Abuse by Parents 07-16-2014
Timeline of the Charlie Bothuell disappearance 08-06-2014
Charlie Bothuell case awaits blood evidence results 08-06-2014
Charlie Bothuell’s stepmother accused of hiding boy in basement 08-06-2014
Bothuell father to face federal charges? 08-06-2014