MADISON -- Chad Chritton and Melinda Drabek-Chritton, the husband and wife accused of torturing and starving the man’s teenage daughter and forcing her to live in their basement appeared in court Friday, May 18th for their motions hearing.
Prosecutors say
Melinda Drabek-Chritton and her husband denied the girl food and forced her to live in the basement. Prosecutors have also accused her stepbrother, Joshua Drabek, of sexually assaulting her.
During their motions hearing on Friday a judge was expected to decide whether to dismiss the case. That is just one of the motions that was considered Friday. Another requests to move Chad Chritton's trial out of Dane County and a third to consider having the girl undergo a physiological evaluation.
The couple claims the teen suffers from mental illness and threatened to harm members of her family.
The teen's 18-year-old stepbrother, Joshua Drabek, is accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting the girl, beginning around her 10th birthday. Prosecutors say the girl’s stepbrother first sexually assaulted her around December 2006, then again from February 2009 to February 2010.
Prosecutors say the girl’s stepbrother was also the source of frequent beatings. Prosecutors say there were two other young children in the house who they say were allowed to hit their older sister. Those children are now in the custody of the state.
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