MOUNT MORRIS, Mich. (KRON/AP) – A 30-year-old Michigan man has been arraigned on child abuse charges after investigators say he restrained his girlfriend’s 5-year-old son with belts, leaned him back over a footstool and poured water down his underwear-covered face.
On Monday, Michael Porter appeared in court where a judge set a $400,000 bond. It’s unclear if Porter has a lawyer.
Investigators say Porter also prodded the woman’s 12-year-old son in the chest and throat with a knife.
Mount Morris police Chief Keith Becker says both boys have been removed from the home.
Becker says the man used waterboarding to punish the 5-year-old after he ripped his backpack.
The police chief says school officials notified investigators after noticing that the boy was acting differently.