Authorities in Blair and Huntingdon counties filed charges against a man who claimed his estranged wife brutally abused their children last summer.   State police in Hollidaysburg filed charges of child endangerment and filing false reports to law enforcement against 37-year-old Dennis Jay Hammel Jr. of Entriken.   Troopers told WJAC-TV that Hammel called authorities last July, claiming that his estranged wife had put duct tape over the mouths of their 4-year-old son and 6-year-old son, and chained them to a bed inside a home near Williamsburg.   According to a criminal complaint obtained by WJAC-TV, investigators found that Hammel and his estranged wife had filed more than a dozen child abuse complaints against each other, which were later determined to be unfounded.   Trooper Jeff Petucci said the latest claims were ruled to be unfounded by psychologists and Children and Youth Services officials and that child endangerment charges were filed against Hammel due to the emotional abuse the children suffered.   “In this case, we came up with evidence and interviews and other investigative means and found the accused had been lying in reference to the original report," said Petucci.   Police filed endangerment charges against Hammel citing emotional abuse and said he "used his children to harass, torture and torment his estranged wife."

Hammel was released on $20,000 unsecured bail and is due in court next month.