CINCINNATI — The husband of Amy Rodriguez, a Cheviot woman accused of torturing her 13-year-old stepson, testified against her in court on Monday.
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.
Prosecutors said the child moved in with Rodriguez and her husband, Anthony Dangel, after his biological mother died. Dangel, the child's biological father, is accused of knowing the abuse occurred and doing nothing to intervene.
The child, who is now 15, took the stand earlier in the trial and shared his perspective of what happened, saying Rodriguez forced him to stand in a room all day, every day. He said there were alarms set on the doors and cameras set up in the room to make sure he would not leave.
On the stand Monday, Dangel said Rodriguez was the one who decided how the children in their home were punished. He described various punishments, including spankings with spoons, and confirmed the child was required to stand in a corner or an imaginary square in his room, sometimes for hours on end.
“So, at least three weeks, at least eight hours a day?” asked a prosecuting attorney about the square.
“Yes,” Dangel answered.
Dangel said Rodriguez would play classical music in the room while the child was standing. He said he believed she did this to make sure he could not hear what was happening in the rest of the house.
Dangel said the music was played “every day for a while.”
He also confirmed the child was monitored by cameras to ensure he did not leave the square and was not always allowed to use the bathroom when he wanted.
The son stated that there were times when he couldn't hold his urine while being forced to stand in the square.
"There would be points where I would have to use the restroom so bad that I would accidentally pee on myself," the teen said earlier in court. "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."
Dangel said his son would occasionally be put in a diaper as a result of his accidents.
“What did you do when you thought he was standing in the corner too long?” a prosecutor asked Dangel.
“We would talk and she would basically ignore me,” he said.
Defense attorneys have argued that there was no abuse. Instead, Rodriguez's attorneys said the stepson had many behavior problems.
"He would lie about non-important things, he was defiant and disrespectful," Tad Brittingham, counsel for Rodriguez, said earlier in the trial. "He wouldn't do his schoolwork; he would lie about that too."
Dangel confirmed to defense attorneys that the child had several behavioral health issues, and he was concerned about him lying and stealing.
Rodriguez's attorneys also 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."
Defense attorneys pressed Dangel about whether he remembered Rodriguez asking the child if he was ready to rejoin the family after he had been separated for punishment.
“You'd agree, that her discipline of him would sometimes be imposed and she'd give him an opportunity to rejoin the family? Isn’t that fair?” a defense attorney asked.
“Yes,” he said.
However, Dangel admitted to prosecutors that he never saw Rodriguez have those conversations with the child. Instead, he confirmed that Rodriguez had told him she had given the child that opportunity.
If Rodriguez is convicted on all 11 counts, she faces a maximum of 88 years in prison. Her parents Armin and Susan Rodriguez are also on trial, facing two counts of child endangerment.
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