A Belmont, Wisconsin, couple faces multiple felony child abuse charges after prosecutors say they severely neglected their two children.
Jamie Lee Weigel and Dalton Hopper each face four felony charges of child abuse, neglect and intentionally causing harm.
The Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office began investigating after Weigel and Hopper brought their 4-month-old daughter to the Upland Hills Health Center.
A physician’s assistant with UW Children’s Hospital diagnosed her with “child neglect, non-organic failure to thrive and medical neglect. The physician’s assistant told investigators that in her five years with Children’s Hospital, she has only seen one case where a child suffered more neglect and malnutrition.
She said the child could have died from malnutrition in as little as a week, if she hadn’t been brought to the doctor.
According to the complaint, Weigel admitted that she, “wasn’t feeding her like I should have been.”
Weigel and Hopper also have a 1-year-old daughter.
Weigel told investigators that she and Hopper would feed the two children in the evening two or three times a week, but more often they would not take care of the children in the evening, according to the complaint.
Weigel told investigators the children would receive food, a diaper change and human interaction once or twice a day, according to the complaint.
Doctors also found marks on the child’s back that were consistent with an infant lying in one place without being picked up for hours on end, according to the complaint.
Lafayette County couple charged with child abuse and neglect
A Belmont, Wisconsin, couple face multiple felony child abuse charges after prosecutors say they severely neglected their two children.
wkow.com
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