A Rapid City area couple accused of using fan belts and a cattle prod to discipline their three young sons likely will learn the jury's verdict today.

David Roney, 53, and Mary Roney, 41, are each charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse of a child younger than 7 and one count of child abuse. Their trial started Wednesday.

The abuse allegedly occurred over a 16-month period, spanning the last half of 2008 up until December 2009, when the Pennington County Sheriff's Office and the South Dakota Department of Social Services took the children into protective custody.

Defense attorneys say the abuse never occurred and is instead a 7-year-old's lie.

The 7-year-old boy and his 4-year old twin brothers have remained in foster care since they were taken from their parents.

The parents saw their children for the first time since then on Thursday morning, when they testified in front of the jury in a closed courtroom.

During opening arguments Wednesday, Pennington County deputy state's attorney Jennifer Utter said the 7-year-old boy made the allegations of abuse at school during sharing time.