MADISON, Wis. -- The parents of a 14-year-old Town of Madison girl are accused of beating, choking and kicking their daughter in what a detective said is the worst case of child abuse that he's seen.

The parents are facing more than two dozen felony charges. Minerva Lopez and Porfino Olivas-Lopez appeared together in Dane County Court on Thursday afternoon.

A criminal complaint charges Lopez with 16 counts of child abuse. Olivas-Lopez is charged with 11 counts of abuse.

The alleged abuse involves all five of their children, the youngest of whom is just 2 weeks old.

The complaint said that the girl's mother beat her daughter with a broomstick, a metal rod, a frying pan and other objects. Prosecutors said that Lopez admitted scalding the girl with hot water, choking her, cutting her wrist with a kitchen knife and biting her face.

Court documents said that Olivas-Lopez hit the girl with his fists, kicked and choked her by lifting her off the floor by her neck.

Madison police said a social worker went to the couple's home on Pheasant Ridge Trail and found evidence of serious child abuse -- including a frail and likely malnourished child in the closet, WISC-TV reported.

The complaint said that the emaciated girl also had broken fingers and a broken kneecap.

All five of the children, ranging in age from 2 weeks to 14 years old, appeared severely malnourished, police said.

The alleged abuse first came to light when one of the children showed up at school with bruises on her face.

School officials then alerted Dane County Social Services.

The couple is being held in the Dane County Jail on $40,000 cash bond. They are forbidden from having any contact with the five children; all of them are in protective custody.

Detective Robb Hale said that the girl is recovering at a local hospital.

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.