MIDDLETOWN — The father and stepmother of a 12-year-old girl police say was locked in a basement for nearly a month will have their case heard by the Butler County grand jury.

Shawn Blackston, 40, and his wife Joanna Blackston, 36, are charged with first-degree felony kidnapping, third-degree felony child endangering and unlawful restraint, a misdemeanor. The Blackstons were arrested the morning of July 6 and each had a $25,000 bond set at their preliminary hearings on July 9.

Joanna Blackston posted bond on July 10, however, her husband remains in Middletown City Jail. More than an hour after their scheduled appearance, Joanna Blackston was escorted into the courtroom Monday afternoon by her attorney while Shawn Blackston — handcuffed to a waist restraint and wearing a faded black and white jail uniform — was escorted by a bailiff.

Middletown police Detective Fred Shuemake and Butler County Children Services intake case worker Ashley Fritz testified during a preliminary hearing in Middletown Municipal Court that the Blackstons, of 1606 Philadelphia Ave., locked their 12-year-old daughter in the basement from June 18 until July 3. Children services removed all six of the couple’s children, ages 16, 14, 12, 9, 3 and 2 from the home on July 3.

Fritz said after police talked with Shawn Blackston — Joanna Blackston was not at the house on July 3 — the decision to remove the children was made, and Shuemake said he was close to pressing charges on July 3 but wanted to investigate further.

An arrest warrant was signed the afternoon of July 5. Shuemake said they would have been arrested then, “but we just couldn’t find them.”

The Blackstons were at the Travel Inn on Kemper Road in Sharonville. After court he said he didn’t know if they were running — saying he wasn’t certain if they knew they had warrants for their arrest — but “they were just not making themselves available.”

“I don’t know why else they would go (to a hotel),” Shuemake said.

Fritz testified she was told by the girl she had not been allowed to eat as much as the other children — which Shuemake said there was an abundance of food in the house.

The day before the girl was freed from the basement, Fritz said the girl had a bowl of cereal and a slice of pizza. The day she was freed — the afternoon of July 3 — she had only eaten a bowl of cereal five hours earlier.

Fritz also testified that a Butler County Children Services caseworker had visited the house a few hours before she and her colleague, Alysa Muncy, arrived. Fritz and Muncy were visiting the house based on an anonymous complaint.

Fritz said the other caseworker’s report indicated the children were OK. However, once Fritz and Muncy inspected the house and talked with the 12-year-old, she said she wanted to remove all six children immediately. But Fritz said she waited until Shuemake arrived before making that decision.

At the end of a preliminary hearing, visiting Middletown Municipal Court Judge Robert Messhem ordered the cases be bound over to the county grand jury.

The judge ordered the bond remain at $25,000 each.

Ched Hagen Peck, attorney for Joanna Blackston, and Daniel Allnutt, attorney for Shawn Blackston, had inquired about the anonymous tip that led to children services’ investigation. The judge denied a motion to have Fritz reveal the identity of the person that made the complaint that led to the removal of the children.

Though Fritz wouldn’t say who, she said the person was known to her professionally and had knowledge of the family.

“It was an allegation,” Fritz said. “I had to investigate.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or michael.pitman@coxinc.com. Follow at twitter.com/mdpitman.