CINCINNATI — Opening statements began Tuesday in the trial of a woman accused of torturing her 13-year-old stepson.
Amy Rodriguez faces 11 counts of child endangerment after the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office said she beat her stepson with belts and spoons, withheld food, refused to allow the child to use the restroom and strapped the child to a bed.
"It's about a child who was psychologically abused and humiliated by having to wear a diaper at age 13 rather than being granted permission to use the bathroom," prosecuting attorney Jennifer Deering said during opening statements. "It's about a child whose movements were restricted by being tethered to a bench all day long, forced to stand in a corner and being tied to his bed."
Prosecutors said the child moved in with Rodriguez and her husband, Anthony Dangel, after his biological mother died. Dangel, the child's father, is accused of knowing the abuse occurred and doing nothing to intervene.
Her parents Armin and Susan Rodriguez are also on trial, facing two counts of child endangerment.
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The defense argued there was no abuse. Rodriguez's attorneys said the stepson had many behavior problems.
"He would lie about nonimportant things, he was defiant and disrespectful," said Tad Brittingham, counsel for Rodriguez. "He wouldn't do his schoolwork; he would lie about that too."
Rodriguez's attorneys said she tried many different forms of punishment.
"Examples include timeout, having to stand in the corner, not being able to participate in family games," he said. "Had him stay in his room, he'd receive spankings, loss of TV time also video game privileges. None of those things, not one, is torture or abuse. The evidence will show you that."
The child, who is now 15, took the stand and shared his perspective of what happened.
During the stepson's testimony, he said Rodriguez forced him to stand in a room all day, every day. He says there were alarms set on the doors and cameras set up in the room to make sure he would not leave. The child stated he was restricted from food and wasn't allowed to go to the bathroom. He said there were times when he couldn't hold it.
"There would be points where I would have to use the restroom so bad that I would accidentally pee on myself," the teen said. "So, I would be thrown into a cold shower ... not literally thrown, but forcefully put into the shower, put on the coldest setting and forced to take a shower while being watched."
If Rodriguez is convicted on all 11 counts, she faces a maximum of 88 years in prison.
The trial will resume Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.
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