Visiting Judge Matthew Crehan will render his decision today in Butler County Juvenile Court on whether a Middletown father and stepmother are guilty of alleged abuse, malnourishment, and confinement their 12-year-old daughter in the basement of their home.

Shawn, 40, and Joanna Blackston, 37, face up to six months in jail if found guilty of child endangering, a misdemeanor. They were charged with kidnapping and unlawful restraint, both felonies, but a Butler County grand jury failed to indict and certified the child endangering charge to juvenile court.

The prosecution claims the couple failed as parents by being selfish and starving the girl, locking her in the basement, and physically and mentally abusing her.

The defense attorneys for the Blackstons say the 12-year-old girl is lying and the Blackstons treated all of their kids the same. They all had free reign of the house, which included being allowed to eat and snack, use the restroom and shower.

The case came to light when an anonymous complaint reported a girl was locked in the basement. Butler County Children Services investigated on July 3 and based on what was found called the Middletown police. Six of the couple’s eight children in their blended family were living at the home in July were removed and placed into foster care.

Three days later the felony charges were levied against the Blackstons, who were found to be in a motel the next day. Joanna Blackston testified they went to the motel because they couldn’t stand to be in the home with reminders that their kids were gone.

“We thought this was a Children Services issue,” Joanna Blackston testified Wednesday afternoon. She said she and her husband needed “time to think” and review Children Services documents.

In closing arguments Thursday, assistant prosecutors Kim Schneider and Josh Muennich said the Blackstons were more concerned about their own needs — including spending more than $2,000 at Pure Romance, an online adult entertainment retailer — than making sure their home was a safe haven for all of their children.

“Everything in the house at 1606 Philadelphia, down to the smallest details like peanut butter, were used to control and punish (the girl) and (her 15-year-old sister),” said Muennich, holding a jar of Jiff peanut butter before placing it on the podium.

Peanut butter was allegedly used as a punishment for the girl, and testimony revealed for her 15-year-old sister who was removed from the home following a domestic violence charge. Testimony alleges the Blackstons force the two girls to eat it until they threw up, and forced them to eat peanut butter with garlic, peppers and/or vinegar. The Blackstons denied this, but said peanut butter sandwiches were offered as snacks or as seconds when the main course was gone.

Defense attorneys Ched Peck, who represents Joanna, and Tim Upton, who represents Shawn, said the 12-year-old girl is a liar. They said the girl’s inconsistent testimony and statements are not enough to convict.

“Judge, testimony at trial indicated (the girl) has made several different statements regarding her experiences over the last two years,” said Peck, hands braced on the podium during his closing argument. “I believe the most important inconsistency was her accusation that she was actually locked in a basement.”

Peck said the girl was not locked in the basement because some statements said she had access to a hallway and the second-floor bathroom.

“I don’t believe the evidence establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that Joanna ostracized (the girl) from the rest of the family,” said Peck, who said the girl had her own “unique issues” as evident by the counseling she is said to have been in since November 2008.

Upton, who did not present a defense for his client said the Blackstons cared for their children and frequently went shopping and camping, and even took a trip to Columbus.

“It simply doesn’t make sense that Shawn Blackston would behave the way the state is alleging,” he said.

Upton said the allegations that the Blackstons made changes to the home to avoid getting in trouble was not true. After their children were removed, they removed locks, bought smoke detectors and a baby gate, and cleaned up the basement including placing toys and books on the shelf.

“It’s certainly not a sign of guilt; it simply makes sense,” he said. “It’s a sign of wanting their kids back.”

But the prosecution said the girl’s account is corroborated with the investigation and testimony of the prosecution’s witnesses, which included the girl’s sister who was removed because a domestic violence charge but had allegations of similar abuse.

Schneider and Muennich said the biggest proof of abuse is the physical difference in the 12-year-old girl in the four months since she was removed from the Philadelphia Avenue home.

Schneider said the punishments were practically “torture” but were definitely “downright cruel punishment.” The biggest punishment, she said, was depriving her of food.

“Judge, just imagine if you will how pathetic and desperate someone would have to be to eat trash from the neighbor, or from her own house because she’s that hungry,” she said. “The most powerful piece of evidence is (the girl’s) weight gain in foster care.”

Schneider called the girl’s physical transformation — gaining 32 pounds, almost half her body weight — in the past four months “the state’s most powerful piece of evidence.”

“She did not choose a life behind that locked door in the living room,” Muennich said. “And there’s a dirty word that these two defendants forget, and that word is parent.”