Aubrey Ott, 38, and Gordon Ott, 42, of the 2300 block of Patton Road in Abington Township, were permitted to remain free on bail while they appeal their convictions and jail terms to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, the Pottstown Mercury reported today.

The Otts were convicted in April of using a waterboarding technique on Aubrey’s 11-year-old daughter on April 29, 2024. In June, they were sentenced to 6 to 23 months in prison.

They were each released from the Montgomery County Correctional Facility on $100,000 unsecured bail after a brief hearing on July 22, the Mercury said. If the appeals are denied, then the Otts will return to prison to continue serving their original sentences.

As a disciplinary measure for dishonesty, the girl’s mother, Aubrey, “instructed her to lean her head face up over a sink and then covered her face with a rag, pinched her nose and poured water over the cloth.”

Her younger sister told a judge that her stepfather, Gordon, told Aubrey, “This is what we did in the war” before taking the girl into the bathroom.

The victim’s biological father notified police after learning about the incident from his daughters. Their charges included strangulation blocking nose and mouth, endangering the welfare of a child, simple assault and conspiracy to commit those crimes.

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