Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com



The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office issued the following release:


A Pontiac couple accused of starving two young children in their care are charged with multiple felonies that could send the couple to prison for life.

Auturo Bazan-Perez, 43, and his wife, Dulce Crystal Bazan Castillo, 42, are each charged with multiple counts of first-degree child abuse and child torture stemming from their care of two boys, ages 9 and 11. The 9-year-old weighed 33 pounds, and the 11-year-old weighed 43 pounds – roughly 30-40 pounds under the normal weight for children in the 50th percentile. 50th District Court Magistrate Angelina Thomas-Scruggs arraigned the parents on the charges and ordered them held without bond in the Oakland County Jail.

“The child abuse cases we are seeing right now are nothing short of heartbreaking and enraging,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “In this case especially, the suffering these children endured might have been stopped sooner had the legislation I called on the Legislature to pass been enacted — a simple, common-sense safeguard that would prevent a child from being unenrolled from school without verified confirmation of their safety and status elsewhere. No child should ever fall through the cracks like this. We will not rest until those responsible are held fully and unequivocally accountable.”

On Nov. 17, sheriff’s deputies were notified by hospital personnel that they were treating a 9-year-old boy who was severely underweight, had bruises on his body and CPR was in progress. The parents had taken the boy to the hospital, contending he was suffering from a medical condition. When deputies arrived, the boy did not have a pulse and had been intubated. The boy was airlifted to another hospital for specialized care.

Detectives began investigating the events surrounding the boy’s hospitalization and discovered the severely malnourished 11-year-old. He was taken from his home and hospitalized. Both boys are in stable condition.

Detectives discovered that the boys had been enrolled in Pontiac schools and appeared to be eating at least two meals a day at school. The boys were unenrolled from school in September. The father told school officials at the time the family was either moving back to Mexico or to another state.
After the boys no longer attended school, their diet consisted mainly of sporadic meals of rice. The boys were not permitted to leave their bedroom. The windows were screwed shut and the window glass was painted so that the boys could not see outside.

Two other children living in the home – a 1-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl. Those children were fed a normal diet and appeared to be healthy. Those children were removed from their home on Friday by Child Protective Services. Termination proceedings are underway.

Child abuse and torture charges were also filed against an adult son of the mother who was living in the home and acting as a disciplinarian.

A probable cause conference for the parents is set for Dec. 4, and a preliminary examination is set for Dec. 11 before 50th District Court Judge Ronda Gross.