Four young children in Charlotte were allegedly forced to do sit-ups and push-ups if they asked for food, according to court documents.
It’s just one of the new accusations outlined in search warrants detailing how a mother allegedly abused her children.
Police said the abuse was discovered when the four children went to their father's home in Florida and he noticed they were just skin and bones.
Channel 9 first reported on the case last month when police arrested Ronika Bell and Deron Cuthbertson Jr.
Bell is the children's mother, and Cuthbertson is a cousin.
DOCUMENT: Search warrant states 4 children forced to do sit-ups if they asked for food
The investigation started in September when the children went to a hospital for malnourishment.
Investigators interviewed the oldest child, a 10-year old girl, who said she and her brothers were kept locked in a downstairs bedroom inside a home on Craftsbury Drive, in east Charlotte.
The search warrant states the children were “whooped with a belt when they asked for food, and made to do sit-ups for long periods of times or push-ups” by Bell or Cuthbertson.
RELATED: Father speaks out after police say estranged wife, boyfriend abused, starved 4 children
But the 10-year old girl told investigators that there was a lot of food in the home.
The warrants describe refrigerators, freezers and cabinets "full of cans of vegetables, beans, snacks, Pop-Tarts, crackers, cookies as well as cans of Manwich."
The children also told investigators if they did have a meal, it would be cereal with water.
Their father said they are on the road to recovery now and receiving counseling in Florida.
Click here if you are interested in making a donation to help the children.
PAST COVERAGE:
Father speaks out after police say estranged wife, boyfriend abused, starved 4 children
It’s just one of the new accusations outlined in search warrants detailing how a mother allegedly abused her children.
Police said the abuse was discovered when the four children went to their father's home in Florida and he noticed they were just skin and bones.
Channel 9 first reported on the case last month when police arrested Ronika Bell and Deron Cuthbertson Jr.
Bell is the children's mother, and Cuthbertson is a cousin.
DOCUMENT: Search warrant states 4 children forced to do sit-ups if they asked for food
The investigation started in September when the children went to a hospital for malnourishment.
Investigators interviewed the oldest child, a 10-year old girl, who said she and her brothers were kept locked in a downstairs bedroom inside a home on Craftsbury Drive, in east Charlotte.
The search warrant states the children were “whooped with a belt when they asked for food, and made to do sit-ups for long periods of times or push-ups” by Bell or Cuthbertson.
RELATED: Father speaks out after police say estranged wife, boyfriend abused, starved 4 children
But the 10-year old girl told investigators that there was a lot of food in the home.
The warrants describe refrigerators, freezers and cabinets "full of cans of vegetables, beans, snacks, Pop-Tarts, crackers, cookies as well as cans of Manwich."
The children also told investigators if they did have a meal, it would be cereal with water.
Their father said they are on the road to recovery now and receiving counseling in Florida.
Click here if you are interested in making a donation to help the children.
PAST COVERAGE:
Father speaks out after police say estranged wife, boyfriend abused, starved 4 children
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