NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A young Wilson County boy who was found starved and chained to his bed in 2004 is pleading with the Legislature for tougher child abuse laws.

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Josh Osborne spoke at a hearing Wednesday morning at the state Capitol.

Osborne wants the Legislature to change the law to add dehydration and starvation as forms of child abuse.

Osborne knows well what that kind of abuse is like.

When authorities found him, he weighed 49 pounds and confided to investigators that he was kept alive on a diet of mostly soup and water. He was abused by his father and stepmother, James and Christie Osborne, for nine years.

His story touched the hearts of lawmakers, and some got emotional as they listened to his story.

"He's been through a lot. He's one of the bravest people I know. To come and talk before the General Assembly, he's just awesome," said Sherry Jones, D-Nashville.

"I just want every kid out there to be safe and have good parents and eat and have fun instead of being abused all the time. That's not fun," Osborne said.

The details that Osborne gave about his treatment were chilling.

"I was made to wear a diaper and was beat if I wet them," he said.

Osborne said he tried to tell others what was happening to him.

"I tried to tell my teacher, I tried to tell my family, I even told a stranger," he said. "These laws really need to be changed. You know what? There are kids out there that are not surviving."

Osborne said his parents should be getting out of jail soon and that he's worried and concerned about his younger siblings.

"I don't know if my siblings will ever get over this," he said.

His plea didn't go unnoticed as committee members took the first step to toughen the law.

"Jesus doesn't want these kids to be abused," he said.

Osborne's uncle, Michael Barber, also addressed the lawmakers.

"The fact is, there are monsters after our children and these particular monsters, due to the laxity of our laws, are free on the streets," he said.

Currently, dehydration and starvation are not a part of the child abuse laws and are considered a misdemeanor.