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Police Say Graham Couple Tortured Boy

POSTED: 11:53 am PDT June 13, 2008
UPDATED: 5:25 pm PDT June 14, 2008

A Graham couple arrested on suspicion of assaulting and criminally mistreating a boy was charged Friday in a Pierce County court.

The Pierce County Sheriff's Department said the couple's 10-year-old son was tortured and forced to live in the garage without any blankets.

The boys' stepfather, Clint Thomas Klug, 35, was charged with two counts of first-degree child assault, and one count of second-degree criminal mistreatment. His bail was set at $100,000.

His 30-year-old wife was charged with second-degree criminal mischief. Her bail was set at $50,000.

According to probable cause documents, on June 10, the Pierce County Sheriff's Department was contacted by Child Protective Services regarding an abuse case involving a 10-year-old boy.

Detectives went to Mary Bridge Hospital where the child was being treated and observed bruising on the boy's jaw, abrasions on his upper left arm and a one-inch scar on his forehead. Doctors said they found other scars that were not easily visible, documents said.

A CPS worker reported that the boy had said, "his stepdad had been locking him in the garage."

During the forensic interview of the boy by authorities on Wednesday, the boy told detectives there were incidents where his stepfather made him lie on the floor and then the stepfather would put his foot on the boy's neck until he couldn't breathe and passed out. The boy estimated that such incidents had happened two to three times a week since the beginning of this year.

Prosecutors said Klug's wife Sarah knew about the abuse and did nothing.

Probable cause documents said the victim was forced to stand at mealtimes while other family members sat and was only allowed to eat leftovers. The boy told detectives he slept on the cement floor in the garage for punishment because the bed belongs to his brothers. The victim described the garage as cold and said he used a towel and a shirt worn for painting to keep warm at night. The garage door was kept locked to keep the boy from coming in the house at night, court documents said.

In addition, detectives spoke with the boy's maternal aunt who said she had noticed disturbing marks on the boy in 2003 that were made by a belt buckle. The aunt told police that when she confronted the boy's stepfather about the marks, he said, "What are you going to do, call the cops?"

The alleged belt buckle marks were investigated in 2003 but no charges were filed.

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