A degranged Pennsylvania couple is facing child abuse charges after they allegedly trapped a 5-year-old boy in their basement and deprived him of all care, beating him with a paddle daily, starving him and forcing him to eat his feces for sustenance.

Colleen Cassidy, 35, and the boy’s father, Charles Smitley V, 29, were arrested at their home in Monessen early Monday morning and are each facing charges of endangering the welfare of children, unlawful restraint, and simple assault, the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office said. 4

Police had been investigating the duo ever since Smitley’s father reported his 5-year-old grandson’s apparent abuse in April. Smitley had turned over custody of his son to his father when “he no longer [wanted] to care for the child,” according t

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