Daughter Locked In Basement Daily: Autistic Child’s Parent’s Accused, Face Neglect Charges


Parents of a Wisconsin girl face charges of child neglect for imprisoning a teen girl. Police say a 13-year-old autistic daughter of a Brookfield couple was found locked in a basement recently. News of the teenager’s mother and father allegedly locking their daughter inside the basement at their family home like a caged animal, shook up the community, according an ABC News report.

Sources say the girl’s mother, 41, and stepfather, 47, are accused of confining their daughter in their basement over a span of time. The space where she was held against her will had no lavatory or basin for running water or showering. Moreover, the girl was allegedly forced to wear diapers like an infant, and was denied access to furniture in the residence. Police made the grisly discovery after receiving an anonymous tip about the couple’s daughter being locked in the basement of the Wisconsin home.

Police say school officials complained about the child showing up covered in feces; the couple’s daughter had dried stool in her hair and all about her clothing. Despite complaints to the parents, the girl continued showing up in soiled clothing and a diaper. There, she would be ridiculed by other students over her foul odor.

Authorities say the teen girl suffers from a low-grade of autism, which affects her cognitive abilities. However, she was lucid enough to describe her horrible ordeal of being locked in the basement. She told investigators that when she arrived home from after-school program, her parents forced her down to the basement and made her change into a “onesie” with only a zipper in the back. There, she would usually have her meals there and sleep on a cot overnight. Her half-sister confirmed the girl’s story to police.

The recent news resembles an unrelated case reported by the Inquisitr in 2013. Then, a couple was arrested for allegedly locking their autistic 6-year-old son in the basement of their Missouri home. Apparently, a social worker was also brought up on charges for not reporting having knowledge of the makeshift cage used to confine the child; they were told it was used only when the child slept to protect himself.

The Wisconsin girl was removed out of the home and evaluated by doctors. She will remain in temporary custody at a Milwaulkee foster care facility until arrangements can be made possibly with relatives or other caregivers. For having locked their daughter inside a basement, it’s unclear if the girl’s parents face additional charges.

[Photo: WISN]

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