Oconomowoc Parents Charged With Neglect After Allegedly Tying Up 12-Year-Old Over Silly Putty
Parents in Waukesha County have been charged with child abuse for allegedly tying a young boy up over a toy. The 12-year-old boy’s school, Nature Hill Intermediate School, who initially noticed signs of neglect. When the boy came to school one day in December with rug burn, scrapes and dried blood the principal called police.
Reluctant at first, the 12-year-old told police he was “hog-tied” with duct tape as punishment. He says he and his mom went to ace hardware. She asked her son to stay in the car. Instead, he went into Ben Franklin Crafts to buy silly putty. When the mother found her son, she made him return the toy and then told the his step-dad what happened.
According to a criminal complaint, the boy's step-father tied his wrists behind his back and duct-taped his mouth shut. Then his parents drove 24 minutes away to china buffet for dinner. The boy was left tied up in the hallway. When asked for how long he told police, "I'm not sure, but my hands were starting to get numb, I was sweaty." Apparently this isn’t the first time he’s been tied up. The boy says it happened another time with rope.
The boy’s mother and stepfather have denied the charges, but the mother did admit they left him home alone while they went out to eat.
In a police interview the boys mother said, "you can remove him, but I don't want neglect charges because that will take my job away."
At Nature Hill Intermediate School in Oconomowoc, teachers are having a hard time with hearing the news.
Oconomowoc Area Schools Superintendent released this statement to CBS 58 news today:
"This is a very sad situation and our heart goes out to the student. Because this is a student as well as a victim in this case, the District is taking all measures possible to protect the student’s confidentiality. We treat all reports of this nature with genuine concern at Nature Hill, and at all of our schools in Oconomowoc, and our responsibility as mandatory reporters is something we take very seriously. Building trusting relationships between students and staff members is paramount in our efforts to help students to feel comfortable at school and to help keep them safe. We continue to work cooperatively with authorities on this matter. However, our primary goal is to do everything we can to maintain a strong sense of normalcy for this student at school, as well as for staff and students who have been affected by the story."
-Statement by OASD Superintendent Dr. Roger Rindo, Ed.D.
Both the mother and step-dad will make their initial appearance at Waukesha County Courthouse on Friday