A Columbia couple was found guilty of child abuse charges by a Cole County jury this week.
Daniel and Christina Dubey were each charged with three counts of abuse or neglect of a child and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Missouri Highway Patrol troopers served a warrant for the couple's arrest Monday morning at their home on Rustic Lane, according to patrol reports. They are to be sentenced at a later date.
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 of two girls 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 two girls were shaking and cold when authorities picked them up, according to the statement. 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 abused them, but they said Christina was present at the time the abuse occurred. They also said Christina prayed with them.