PONTIAC (WXYZ) — In less than three years, children’s protective services in Oakland County was alerted eight times that two Pontiac boys were malnourished, being abused, or in harm’s way.
But despite repeated warnings, prosecutors say the children would be tortured and starved by their family, and that the abuse only stopped when one of the boys was brought to a hospital on the verge of death.
See the full investigation in the video below
The case represents just the latest tragedy brought to light in the last year, where children in Michigan were killed or badly hurt following a string of alerts to CPS.
“Did you really listen to the kids?” asked Dr. Letha Hopkins-Powell, a principal at the boys’ elementary school. “Or did you go in the house and say, ‘Oh, well, the house is clean, food in the refrigerator.’ What were you looking for?
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In November, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald charged Arturo Bazan, his wife Dulce Bazan and son Carlos Bazan-Hernandez with 2 counts of first-degree child abuse and 2 counts of torture.
The three are accused of abusing Arturo’s sons, 9-year-old Jonathan and 11-year-old Ethan. The criminal case against all three was recently bound over to circuit court. Each of the defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Watch below: 'He was near death:' Family of two Pontiac boys sent to trial over torture, abuse charges
Between 2022 and 2025, Hopkins-Powell and other staff from Whitman Elementary School in Pontiac repeatedly alerted CPS to alleged abuse or neglect happening inside the childrens' home.
The complaints, documented in law enforcement records, began in March of 2022. Jonathan was “eating out of the trash can,” CPS was told, he had “unexplained bruises on his arm,” and his mother had struck “him with a spoon.”
Later that fall, according to a second complaint, Jonathan “arrived at school with a swollen face and a black eye.” He told teachers “three different explanations” about how the injury happened, and that his father “told him to tell the doctor his black eye happened at school.”
“What does it tell you as an educator when a child keeps changing their story?” asked Channel 7’s Ross Jones.
“Something is not right,” Hopkins-Powell said. “They’re afraid.”
The third complaint came in February of 2023, when a school social worker noticed that Jonathan’s pockets had been “sewed shut,” presumably so he couldn’t hide food.
A complaint in October said both boys “obsess over food” and are “malnourished.”
Their family told CPS that Jonathan suffered from a hormone issue that could cause him to eat more than he should and that limiting his food was for his own good.
It is not clear from the law enforcement records how CPS responded to the complaints—and the state agency did not provide any explanation, citing privacy laws—but the complaints kept coming.
Watch below: Past coverage of prior warnings in alleged Pontiac child abuse case
The seventh complaint, lodged in November 2024, reported that Jonathan appeared at school with a face so swollen, “his eyes were nearly closed.”
Three months later, Ethan told CPS that “his mother always hits him and is punishing him.” He reported that a toenail came off after she struck his foot with a mop, that she “stepped on his neck, leg and feet as punishment,” forced him to eat hot peppers and perform forced exercises.
By last fall, the boys had been pulled out of school. In November, Jonathan would be brought to an emergency room in Pontiac, where doctors said he was skin and bones.
“He had noticeable marks on his body from trauma,” said Dr. Peter Gerrits, a pediatric endocrinologist who had previously treated Jonathan for a hormone condition. “There was bruises on his face, neck and shoulders."
He weighed only 33 pounds, his body temperature was only 91 degrees and he was not breathing on his own.
“I never saw a child this malnourished,” said Dr. Allison Ball when she testified at a preliminary exam last Friday. “I never saw a child who looked as sick and emaciated and near death as Jonathan.”
Watch below: Pontiac couple charged with child abuse & torture, accused of starving children
Hopkins-Powell sat in court last Friday, recounting all the ways she tried to protect her students.
“It was hard, it was hard,” she said, shaking her head. “I felt like I did good until I saw those pictures.”
In court, the attorney for Jonathan and Ethan’s older brother, Carlos, denied police and prosecutors' claims that he tortured or abused boys, and said the family utilized holistic medicine to treat each boy’s health problems.
“These are poor, uneducated laborers trying to do the best that they can,” said Mani Khavajian. “Sometimes that means using home remedies when you don’t have insurance.”
Carlo’s father, Arturo, and his wife, Dulce, waived their right to a preliminary exam. The case against all three was bound over to circuit court.
“You had three adults,” said Judge Ronda Fowlkes Gross. “And nobody, nobody rescued these kids.”
The attorney for Arturo Bazan, the boys’ father, did not respond to a call, text or e-mail seeking comment on the case.
His wife Dulce’s attorney said his client maintains her innocence and is praying for the safety and well-being of the children.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not provide a response to our request for comment on the 8 prior complaints.
Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at ross.jones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466.