Teenage boy 'whipped, starved and locked in a dog kennel by his mother and stepfather'Vernon D. Widner, 55, and Tina L. Graham Widner, 40, face multiple charges that could see them jailed for over 30 years for the treatment of the 14 year old boy.

By PAUL THOMPSON
Last updated at 4:13 PM on 19th December 2011

A couple have been hit with 16 felony charges for allegedly abusing a teenage boy for months and locking him a dog kennel.

Vernon D. Widner, 55, and Tina L. Graham Widner, 40, face multiple charges that could see them jailed for over 30 years for the treatment of the 14 year old boy.

The sustained abuse came to light earlier this year when the teen ran away from home and told authorities about his treatment.

Tina Louise Graham, 40, allegedly abused her son, 14. The unnamed boy was reportedly fed one meal a day, whipped, and forced to sleep in a dog kennel.
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The boy told police his mother and fiancé locked him inside a dog kennel, forced him to take extremely hot showers and allowed him one meal a day.

He alleged he was abused with a whip, threatened with having his testicles cut off and had a loaded gun placed to his cheek.

The boy from Lowell, Indiana told police his mother and his sister would hold him down during the beatings with a horsewhip, which occurred between August and November 2010.
The boy also described being locked in a dog kennel overnight beginning in October 2010 through January 2011.

On one occasion he claimed Widner choked him so he almost passed out.

Vernon Widner 'hit the teen with a horse whip' and allegedly choked him until he passed out. His fiancee would hold her son down, according to police, so Vernon could beat him. They couple were arrested after the teen ran away and reported the abuse.
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The boy told police that in January this year he attempted to run away from home after the couple withdrew him from school and refused to home school him.

In a probable cause affidavit the boy described the worst time of being locked in the kennel occurring on a particular Saturday when he was 'locked in the kennel in the morning and not permitted to exit the kennel until the next day,'

'His mother and her fiancé would regularly eat dinner and stare at him or mock him while he remained locked in the kennel,' said the affidavit.

Investigators have been compiling allegations against the couple over the past year.

The couple faces charges of criminal confinement, battery and neglect of a dependent.

The pair denied they've abused the boy during interviews with law enforcement officials.

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An Indiana woman and her fiance have been charged with 16 felonies for severe abuse allegations detailed by her 14-year-old son, who was being questioned by police after running away from home.

Tina Louise Graham, 40, and Vernon Widner, 55, stand accused of physically abusing the teen for more than two years, ABC 7 reports. The boy told police he was beaten with a horsewhip and belt, threatened with knives and a gun and locked in a dog cage on multiple occasions.

After being withdrawn from school by his mother in January, the boy told police that uninterrupted time in his home was too much to bear, according to the Indiana Post-Tribune. Frequent interactions with police related to several runaway attempts prompted the victim to detail abuse allegations in March, at which point he was placed in foster care by the Indiana Department of Child Services.

The case has alarming similarities to the death of 13-year-old Christian Choate, an Indiana boy found dead at his family's home after years of physical abuse by his father and stepmother, which allegedly included locking him in a dog cage for days on end, according to Choate's sister.

Widner is being held on $70,000 bail, and Graham is free on bond, Fox Chicago reports. The pair faces up to 20 years in prison for charges including criminal confinement, negligence of a dependent and strangulation.

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