Man charged with multiple abuse crimes

A 37-year-old Bennington man is charged with abuse and sexual assault on a boy who was in his care for six years. Robert Pratt pled innocent to charges that included repeated sexual assaults on the child. Police say the boy was victimized between the ages of 10 and 16 while he lived with Pratt in a Bennington apartment building. Bennington County Prosecutor Erica Marthage said Pratt kept the boy locked in his room, denied food and water was not allowed to use the bathroom. She called the treatment “torture.” Police say the boy, who is now 17, reported the abuse for the first time in recent weeks. Pratt was arrested and jailed at the state prison in Rutland. If convicted he faces life behind bars.