Custodial dad, step charged for starving, locking up 12-year-old son (Wilmington, Delaware)

Dad ROBERT HOHN is obviously a custodial dad, as you can't lock up a kid and starve them in a joint custody situation--at least not very easily. Notice that there is NO mention of this boy's mother or what happened to her. Is she alive, dead, "disappeared"? It is very important to follow up on the "missing" mothers in these stories, as abusive fathers are typically violent control freak partners as well.

Seems I'm seeing a lot of cases recently of custodial fathers veering from abuse into bonafide torture--starvation/malnutrition, imprisonment, systematic beatings, etc. I suspect that this reflects more abusive fathers getting and obtaining full custody, with no accountability for their conduct.

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/03/20/newark-father-stepmother-indicted-for-child-abuse/

Newark Father, Stepmother Indicted For Child Abuse

March 20, 2013 3:15 PM

WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) – A Newark couple was indicted on Wednesday for charges relating to the abuse and neglect of their 12-year-old son (see related story).

The indictment charges 42-year-old Robert Hohn and 40-year old Shannon Watterson with Child Abuse, Conspiracy, Unlawful Imprisonment, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child.

Authorities say Hohn and Watterson were arrested and charged in November 2012 after a police investigation revealed that their 12-year-old son had been physically abused and become malnourished while allegedly being locking in a bedroom of the family’s home.

The police investigation was initiated after the victim escaped from his home and went a neighbor’s house, who contacted police.

Attorney General Beau Biden noted in a statement on Wednesday that this case represents the first arrests made under Delaware’s new child abuse statute.

“Fortunately, our new child abuse statute is a powerful tool that we have used in this case and will continue to use to hold offenders accountable and better protect kids,” said Biden.

Hohn and Watterson have been incarcerated in lieu of $282,500 cash bail since their arrest.