The Dexter parents who chained their now 6-year-old son to his bed last year have lost their parental rights.

District Judge Fred Wellmann terminated the parental rights of Brian Miller, 34, and Charity Miller, 27, in a ruling issued Thursday afternoon. Wellmann ruled that all requirements to terminate the Millers parental rights have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, ordered their parental rights terminated and issued their now 6- and 9-year-old sons’ custody to Mower County Human Services for foster care placement.

The Millers have had no contact with their children since they were arrested in April 2011 for chaining their youngest son to his crib from bedtime until morning every night over a six-month span. They made their sons stay in their bedrooms most of the time and weren’t providing them sufficient food or bathroom access. The younger son weighed less than 30 pounds when he and his brother were placed with a foster family in April 2011.

The Millers were sentenced in July 2011 to one year in jail on one count each of gross misdemeanor false imprisonment and one count each of malicious punishment, but were released in January after serving almost exactly six months. They received credit for time served and participated in the sentence to service program, which reduced their required time in jail.

While the Millers won’t be able to see their two children again, the ruling doesn’t automatically bar them from having more kids and parenting them in the future. There would be concerns, however.

“If they were to have children again, I think Mower County Human Services would still have concerns about their ability to parent and would look at our options for addressing those concerns at that time,” said Aaron Jones, assistant Mower County Attorney.

“If they had kids, the authorities anywhere would have concerns,” he added.

Wellmann’s ruling Thursday was the second in this case. Wellmann ruled in June 2011 that the Millers had caused egregious harm to their children, but could retain their parental rights if they completed a case plan to reunify their family pursuant to the Indian Child Welfare Act, as Charity and one of the two sons are members of the Cherokee Tribe. MCHS petitioned to terminate the Millers’ parental rights again in February, claiming the parents had not done enough to reunify their family, and Wellmann ruled in MCHS’s favor Thursday.

Look to the Herald as this story develops.

— Amanda Lillie and Matt Peterson contributed to this report.