Pushup Mom Pleads Not Guilty in Unusual Eagan Abuse Case

Police say Angela Danner and her husband locked their 15-year-old son in the  basement and forced him to do thousands of pushups. But Danner says she's innocent.

Danner, 41, pleaded not guilty on March 25 to gross misdemeanor charges of neglect and malicious punishment of a child, according to Minnesota court records. If convicted on the neglect charge, Danner could face a maximum of one year in jail and $3,000 in fines.

Danner and her husband, Gregory Allan Danner—the boy's stepfather—were charged last year after the 15-year-old victim contacted police in April 2012.

Investigators interviewed the boy, who told police the Danners treated him like a jail inmate; forcing him to stay in his room and intalling a video camera in his room to monitor him. He told officers that his sister brought peanut butter sandwiches to him every night in his room, and he was told to leave the plate on the stairs for someone to carry upstairs to the kitchen.

Police say the Danners refused to let him regularly shower—except when the boy went to his father's home for court-ordered visits.

In addition, police say the Danners forced the boy to do hundreds of military-style pushups every day—sometimes as many as 1,500 or 2,000, but never fewer than 500. He said he had been required to do extreme exercises since he was 12 or 13.

The victim told police that he felt “very angry” about how his mother and stepfather treated him, and that it made him feel as if he wanted to hurt them. He said he had experienced significant psychological stress.

Angela Danner's trial is set to begin on Sept. 16, 2013. Gregory Danner's next court appearance is scheduled for April 8.

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