A Cole County couple was charged Tuesday in a child abuse investigation.
Daniel Dubey, 31, and Christina Dubey, 23, are each charged with two counts of abuse or neglect of a child and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Both were being held Tuesday in the Cole County jail on $100,000 bonds each.
Osage County Prosecutor Amanda Grellner was named special prosecutor in this case and said the abuse charges have a range of punishment of five to 15 years in prison while the endangering charges carry a prison sentence of three to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
Missouri Highway Patrol troopers served a warrant for the couple's arrest Monday morning at their home on Rustic Lane, according to patrol reports.
Court records state the couple allegedly hit two juvenile girls, both described as being under the age of 14, with a belt, spoons and spatulas, as well as beat them against a wall. The charging documents read the couple caused "serious physical and emotional injuries" to the two girls.
According to a Missouri Highway Patrol probable cause statement, troopers were dispatched at 5:20 a.m. Oct. 10 for a report that two girls were seen in the median of U.S. 54. A short time later, a Cole County Sheriff's Department deputy found the two on Monticello Road and picked them up.
The statement noted the two girls were shaking and were cold when authorities picked them up. Neither were wearing shoes, and their clothes were wet due to the weather conditions at the time.
The girls told authorities they had run away from the Dubeys' home and were planning to go to Texas. They said they lived with the Dubeys and were going to Texas to go live with one of the girl's parents. That girl said she had been taken away from her parents.
The girls gave several accounts of alleged abuse and neglect while living with the Dubeys and said they believed they would be beaten or killed if they went back to the home.
The girls told authorities they were fed half of a peanut butter sandwich and six peanut butter crackers for breakfast and nothing for lunch. The girls also said they were fed a half of a peanut butter sandwich and six peanut butter crackers for dinner if they were found talking during the day. The girls said they did not have beds, blankets or pillows and slept on the bare floor.
Authorities took the girls to the Children's Division Office in Jefferson City and the division was given temporary custody of the girls, who were then taken to the Community Health Center on Christy Drive where a doctor examined the girls and found both had injuries consistent with child abuse.
Authorities went back to the Dubeys home and did a walk through, finding items and conditions that matched the girls' claims.
The girls alleged Daniel did the abusing, but they said Christina was present at the time the abuse occurred. They also said Christina prayed with them.