Tux of Borg Posted January 18, 2007 Share Posted January 18, 2007 http://www.thenorthwestern.com/apps/pbcs.d.../701170463/1987 Couple charged with locking girl in bedroom for nearly two years Girl spent 22 hours a day in a room for almost 2 years By Jennifer K. Woldt of The Northwestern An Oshkosh couple is accused of locking their daughter up in a small room for nearly two years as punishment for behaving badly. The couple only allowed the 13-year-old girl to leave for bathroom breaks, meals and to do chores, according to a criminal complaint filed in Winnebago County Circuit Court Tuesday. The complaint states the girl was locked in a small bedroom for 22 hours a day for nearly two years. The bedroom was secured with a dead bolt accessible only from the outside and an alarm system that went off if the door was opened. There was a camera in the room that recorded what the girl was doing during at all hours of the day and night and the only furnishings in the room was a urine soaked mattress, a blanket, a pillow and an empty dresser. Clint M. Engstrom, the girl's 32-year-old father, and her stepmother, Lynn M. Engstrom, 35, are charged with causing mental harm to a child, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 12 years, six months in prison and a $25,000 fine. "The facts are bizarre in this case," Winnebago County District Attorney Christian Gossett said. "This case is charged as causing mental harm to a child, but the behavior they engaged in and the conditions this child was kept in are just appalling." Court Commissioner Daniel Bissett ordered the Engstroms to each be held in the Winnebago County Jail in lieu of a $25,000 cash bond. They are due back in court for a preliminary hearing Jan. 25. The girl's maternal grandfather, Joe Zimmer, said the couple had shut him out of his granddaughter's life about the same time that police said the girl was first confined to her room. "We were aware that Lynn (Engstrom) was pretty strict in regards to bedtime, but we had no idea this stuff was going on," Zimmer said. "We've had no contact with (the girl) since they shut us out about two years ago." Officers from the Oshkosh Police Department were called on Jan. 12 to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Appleton, where the 13-year-old girl had been brought because she was hearing voices. The girl told detectives her parents had been confining her to a bedroom for nearly two years as a form of punishment, the complaint sates. The girl told officers that she had been living with her father and stepmother in their home at 1612 Minnesota Street, and that she had been grounded to her room since February 2005. She said she was only allowed out of the room for meals, timed bathroom breaks and to do chores. Minnesota Street resident Tammy Ponzer, said she and her neighbors knew the Engstroms as a couple who had fixed up a dilapidated home, but had little social contact with others on the street. "They seemed friendly enough," Ponzer said. A search warrant carried out showed that the home was lavishly furnished with high-end electronics and toys for three other children, however the room were the girl was confined had no toys, books or other things associated with a child, the complaint states. Detectives also noted the room contained a single light bulb and there was no heat or air conditioning duct work and that the only source of heat was a space heater that was controlled from outside the room. Clint and Lynn Engstrom acknowledged to detectives that the girl had been grounded to her room for 1½ to 2 years and Clint Engstrom told detectives he installed the alarm on the door because they had problems with the girl sneaking out of her room to eat candy or watch television, the complaint states. He told detectives the girl spent about 22 hours a day in the room and the girl told officers, "she was required to sit on her bed all day and night," the complaint states. The girl told detectives that she was allowed to leave the room to eat meals, but she was only fed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or a fruit and grain bar. If she did not hear when she was called for a meal, she would not be allowed to eat. The girl said she would steal food because she was hungry and that "she would sneak downstairs to the kitchen and find scraps of food and leftovers," the complaint states. She told police she would have to skip two meals as punishment if she was caught. She also told officers her stepmother only allowed her one minute to use the bathroom, she was not allowed to have any presents or cake for her birthday and was not allowed to read any books, including the Bible. She told detectives that during the summer, she was allowed to go outside for a half hour to do chores that included picking up dog feces and taking out the garbage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justnzane Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 local message board about the topic soccermomwi Joined: 17 Jan 2007 Posts: 1 Location: oshkosh PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 2:35 pm Post subject: please know the facts before writing opinions To everyone who has responded to this message board, let me set some facts straight as someone who knows the girl's extended family. First, the girl who was locked up was not a behavioral problem in the past. She was a sweet, bright, well-mannered young lady who earned good grades in school and had many friends. About two years ago, her father and step-mother began to cut her off from contact with any of her family members. Her biological mother is not in the picture, and they did not allow her to have contact with grandparents, aunts or uncles, friends, etc. The girl had been enrolled in private school. The parents pulled her out of private school and told the private school she was going to public school. They never enrolled her in public school. Her extended family tried on many occasions to have contact with her. The father and step-mother refused. About a month ago, one of her family members came to the house and demanded to see the girl. The other children let this family member in. The family member asked the kids where the girl's room was, and tried to get in the door. Upon opening the door, a loud alarm sounded, and by this time, the step-mother forced the family member out of the house (without the girl ever being seen), resulting in a restraining order. To make a long story short, social services were called, and steps with initiated that in essence probably saved her life. The girl was not receiving any outside care before the above-mentioned situation. This beautiful young child did NOTHING to provoke being treated any differently than the biological children of the step-mother. The girl's extended family is not to be blamed either, as they did everything they could within the law to see the girl, and were continually refused. The family member who forced their way into the house virtually saved her life. This is one of the clearest cases of child abuse and neglect I have ever seen. As a former abused kid, I was once confined during the summer to my room for two weeks and it was hell. However, I had some stuff to play with. Its rare that i say this, but i think (and am pretty sure) i had it better than this kid. Parents who do not actually try to be loving supporting and caring like these people deserve to be in prison. This half assed kind of parenting is why so many kids today come out so F---ed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFerguson Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 local message board about the topicAs a former abused kid, I was once confined during the summer to my room for two weeks and it was hell. However, I had some stuff to play with. Its rare that i say this, but i think (and am pretty sure) i had it better than this kid. Parents who do not actually try to be loving supporting and caring like these people deserve to be in prison. This half assed kind of parenting is why so many kids today come out so F---ed up. How were you abused? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RU5781 Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 How were you abused? Nice question... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justnzane Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 How were you abused? well i am very open about this. My mom was very abusive to me, as she would physically kick the living crap out of me, throwing objects at me ranging from ashtrays to remotes, after 2-3 hour football practices she would go up to the bar for beers and make me run in my cleats 2-3 more miles along side the car at times ranging from 9pm to 1 am (i was as young as 7 at the time), she tried stabbing me with a knife, and smeared dog crap in my face. Most of this was for stupid little stuff that a rational minded person would let go. Some of her boyfriends and then her husband would kick my ass too in drunken rage. My stepfather also tried burning my hand on the stove, pulled out a shotgun at my head, tried running me over with his pickup truck, and also tried stabbing a few times. he walked all over me and i couldn't stand up for myself without some kind of violent action happening. between my mom and stepdad, they emotionally !@#$ed me up by making me take care of the whole apt/ house, sometimes my baby brother was thrust upon me because my stepfather was passed out drunk and my mom was not home, when i started working, the only place in town that had a job for me was darien lake which was 8 miles away and they wouldn't provide me with a ride which made me walk and hitchhike to work on a daily basis. Now if you wonder why i was so desperate for work, partially to get me out of the house, partially because my mother wouldn't provide me with basic needs like deodorant, toothbrush, clothes while i was a teenager (basically from age 11 up). Luckily when i was 13 i convinced my grandmother to take custody of me, which was great because i came out of my shell and learned a lot about the way life really is. Unfortunately she passed away two years later and i had custody revert to my dad, which was a nightmare too cuz he is a drug addict drunk that let my stepmom and stepsiblings kick my ass. So I decided to go back to my moms. I basically had to put up with a lot of bull sh-- until I got to college. During Spring Break my freshman year, I stood up for myself as my stepdad basically took advantage of my generosity to watch my lil brother. He proceeded to walk into my room and throw my stuff out into the yard. I gathered it up, but had nowhere to go, especially since my dad just begun a 3 year prison sentence. I made it to the next week and through the rest of the semester barely. I almost had to leave college until a financial aid counselor recognized my situation and help get me a financial aid independence override. This basically gave me maximum amount of grants and supplemented the rest of costs with loans. I was a Resident Assistant for a couple years, which saved me a lot of money in loans. Luckily the school also passed a policy that mandated health insurance within a year of me getting really sick. I had to battle through pretty bad illness in fall of 05, but in spite of that and my family situation, I am going to graduate in december with 5 and half years of college experience with mathematics teacher cert and coaching cert, plus being a college athlete and involved in other on campus roles. Wow that was a little bit of a tangent, but what i was trying to get at was that I am lucky to make it out of where i did, and i am lucky that the government helped me out immensely. I can proudly say that i have come so far, without the support of my immediate family, but with the support of friends (including TSW'ers) and cousins, aunts and uncles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justnzane Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 Nice question... honestly i do not mind, i have gone beyond that pain to become something greater than my parents ever will be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RU5781 Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 That is an amazing story. You're an amzing individual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meazza Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 honestly i do not mind, i have gone beyond that pain to become something greater than my parents ever will be It's a good story. I'm happy to hear that you managed to overcome so much adversity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Tomcat Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 Wow...I'm sorry dude....Now go create a life for yourself blessed with many kids that you say "I love you" too every night. God Bless... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeF Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 Not too many people would take the path you have taken jz given that kind of childhood. Congratulations young man...wow... You have the opportunity to be a phenomenal mentor as a teacher and a coach... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justnzane Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 wow i am speechless for the words of wisdom and encouragement. Seriously, I had that Jesus guy praise me, which is not often i can say that . I have become an advocate for child protection, because the kids get !@#$ed up by this kind of parental conduct. I can honestly say that i had to battle through many demons to create a normal life for myself (if you call posting to random people on the internet at 9:20 at nite normal). But i think i will stop my hijacking of this thread to point out that reality is that the case that detox brought up is very sickening to see and that we as society got to do more to try to prevent crap like this from occuring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFerguson Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 wow i am speechless for the words of wisdom and encouragement. Seriously, I had that Jesus guy praise me, which is not often i can say that . I have become an advocate for child protection, because the kids get !@#$ed up by this kind of parental conduct. I can honestly say that i had to battle through many demons to create a normal life for myself (if you call posting to random people on the internet at 9:20 at nite normal). But i think i will stop my hijacking of this thread to point out that reality is that the case that detox brought up is very sickening to see and that we as society got to do more to try to prevent crap like this from occuring Dude, that's a great story. I asked the question because I figured if you're willing to admit on the internet that you were abused then you probably wouldn't have a problem going in to the details. So what is happening with your siblings and parents? Do you still communicate with them? How did have such a strong sense of self when basically both your parents are complete losers? Did you grow up in Akron? You're younger than me but you definitely have a lot more miles. My hat's off to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 I have become an advocate for child protection, because the kids get !@#$ed up by this kind of parental conduct. I can honestly say that i had to battle through many demons to create a normal life for myself (if you call posting to random people on the internet at 9:20 at nite normal). You should be very proud of yourself and feel very accomplished. I wish you the best of luck, you will make a helluva mentor and Dad someday. My wife is a prosecutor for the Administration for Children's Services here in NYC. The sh*t people do to their kids is unbelieveable and sickening. An eye for an eye would be an appropriate law. Methinks that would tone down what folks would do to their kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stinky finger Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 jzmack....what an amazing admission.....I have an overwhelming feeling of respect and admiration towards you....you're truly special because of your strength and courage......God bless you.....I get the feeling special things will come your way....you deserve it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oneonta Buffalo Fan Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 http://www.thenorthwestern.com/apps/pbcs.d.../701170463/1987 Couple charged with locking girl in bedroom for nearly two years Girl spent 22 hours a day in a room for almost 2 years By Jennifer K. Woldt of The Northwestern An Oshkosh couple is accused of locking their daughter up in a small room for nearly two years as punishment for behaving badly. The couple only allowed the 13-year-old girl to leave for bathroom breaks, meals and to do chores, according to a criminal complaint filed in Winnebago County Circuit Court Tuesday. The complaint states the girl was locked in a small bedroom for 22 hours a day for nearly two years. The bedroom was secured with a dead bolt accessible only from the outside and an alarm system that went off if the door was opened. There was a camera in the room that recorded what the girl was doing during at all hours of the day and night and the only furnishings in the room was a urine soaked mattress, a blanket, a pillow and an empty dresser. Clint M. Engstrom, the girl's 32-year-old father, and her stepmother, Lynn M. Engstrom, 35, are charged with causing mental harm to a child, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 12 years, six months in prison and a $25,000 fine. "The facts are bizarre in this case," Winnebago County District Attorney Christian Gossett said. "This case is charged as causing mental harm to a child, but the behavior they engaged in and the conditions this child was kept in are just appalling." Court Commissioner Daniel Bissett ordered the Engstroms to each be held in the Winnebago County Jail in lieu of a $25,000 cash bond. They are due back in court for a preliminary hearing Jan. 25. The girl's maternal grandfather, Joe Zimmer, said the couple had shut him out of his granddaughter's life about the same time that police said the girl was first confined to her room. "We were aware that Lynn (Engstrom) was pretty strict in regards to bedtime, but we had no idea this stuff was going on," Zimmer said. "We've had no contact with (the girl) since they shut us out about two years ago." Officers from the Oshkosh Police Department were called on Jan. 12 to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Appleton, where the 13-year-old girl had been brought because she was hearing voices. The girl told detectives her parents had been confining her to a bedroom for nearly two years as a form of punishment, the complaint sates. The girl told officers that she had been living with her father and stepmother in their home at 1612 Minnesota Street, and that she had been grounded to her room since February 2005. She said she was only allowed out of the room for meals, timed bathroom breaks and to do chores. Minnesota Street resident Tammy Ponzer, said she and her neighbors knew the Engstroms as a couple who had fixed up a dilapidated home, but had little social contact with others on the street. "They seemed friendly enough," Ponzer said. A search warrant carried out showed that the home was lavishly furnished with high-end electronics and toys for three other children, however the room were the girl was confined had no toys, books or other things associated with a child, the complaint states. Detectives also noted the room contained a single light bulb and there was no heat or air conditioning duct work and that the only source of heat was a space heater that was controlled from outside the room. Clint and Lynn Engstrom acknowledged to detectives that the girl had been grounded to her room for 1½ to 2 years and Clint Engstrom told detectives he installed the alarm on the door because they had problems with the girl sneaking out of her room to eat candy or watch television, the complaint states. He told detectives the girl spent about 22 hours a day in the room and the girl told officers, "she was required to sit on her bed all day and night," the complaint states. The girl told detectives that she was allowed to leave the room to eat meals, but she was only fed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or a fruit and grain bar. If she did not hear when she was called for a meal, she would not be allowed to eat. The girl said she would steal food because she was hungry and that "she would sneak downstairs to the kitchen and find scraps of food and leftovers," the complaint states. She told police she would have to skip two meals as punishment if she was caught. She also told officers her stepmother only allowed her one minute to use the bathroom, she was not allowed to have any presents or cake for her birthday and was not allowed to read any books, including the Bible. She told detectives that during the summer, she was allowed to go outside for a half hour to do chores that included picking up dog feces and taking out the garbage. CRUEL! WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justnzane Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 Dude, that's a great story. I asked the question because I figured if you're willing to admit on the internet that you were abused then you probably wouldn't have a problem going in to the details. So what is happening with your siblings and parents? Do you still communicate with them? How did have such a strong sense of self when basically both your parents are complete losers? Did you grow up in Akron? You're younger than me but you definitely have a lot more miles. My hat's off to you. ok yeah i actually lived in pembroke on akron road at the time of hitchhiking to darien lake. But, I try to keep as little affiliation with my parents as possible. I can never forgive my mom for the way she treated me then and how she is still verbally abusive towards me at family gettogethers. She left my stepdad and offered to let me move back in, and i refused to based on safety concerns. My little brother is a funny kid at the age of 7 now, but i worry that he won't get the support that he needs. My mom has been much more patient with him, partially cuz my stepdad believes that he can do no wrong. But the little one shows a lot of behaviors similar to my stepdad, ie.) when he was asked last year what his favorite part of the MLK film was, he responded when King got shot. This is prevalent because my stepfather is a supremely hypocritical bigot. My stepfather is 1/32 Apache native, yet he is an Apache supremicist that hates Irish, blacks, latinos, polish, etc.... I swear i can't make this crap up. I'll talk to my dad, but as soon as he got out of jail he started drinking again which was his big problem to begin with more than anything else. the gov't is taking child support from him and giving it to me at a whopping $8/ week for the 8000 he owes to me from when he was in prison. I'll neglect to mention my stepsiblings just because they are total waste cases too. I proudly say that my apt. which isn't much but it is enough, is all built by me, as i worked for it all. the only major thing i own that i can think of that was bought by family was my stereo, so i take pride in who i am and what i have done. The biggest issue i have with having as many miles as i have, is that i have already slowed down physically and mentally in a sense. My body, even though i am a college athlete is arthritic in certain joints and mentally, i drank and did so much other stuff when i was a teen to cope with all of this stuff that college life was almost a step backwards as far as the partying and lifestyle. I hardly get trashed anymore, and my girlfriend is in the mindset where she will drink herself into a stupor far more often than I do. I am really more mature in knowing my limits and preserving my body, because I experienced what i did Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuntheDamnBall Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 wow, jzmack. You're just further proof that you never know what kind of pain any individual you come across might have experienced, and just how strong a person can be. You've every right to be proud of how far you've come. I wish you all the success you might hope for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 well i am very open about this. My mom was very abusive to me, as she would physically kick the living crap out of me, throwing objects at me ranging from ashtrays to remotes, after 2-3 hour football practices she would go up to the bar for beers and make me run in my cleats 2-3 more miles along side the car at times ranging from 9pm to 1 am (i was as young as 7 at the time), she tried stabbing me with a knife, and smeared dog crap in my face. Most of this was for stupid little stuff that a rational minded person would let go. Some of her boyfriends and then her husband would kick my ass too in drunken rage. My stepfather also tried burning my hand on the stove, pulled out a shotgun at my head, tried running me over with his pickup truck, and also tried stabbing a few times. he walked all over me and i couldn't stand up for myself without some kind of violent action happening. between my mom and stepdad, they emotionally !@#$ed me up by making me take care of the whole apt/ house, sometimes my baby brother was thrust upon me because my stepfather was passed out drunk and my mom was not home, when i started working, the only place in town that had a job for me was darien lake which was 8 miles away and they wouldn't provide me with a ride which made me walk and hitchhike to work on a daily basis. Now if you wonder why i was so desperate for work, partially to get me out of the house, partially because my mother wouldn't provide me with basic needs like deodorant, toothbrush, clothes while i was a teenager (basically from age 11 up). Luckily when i was 13 i convinced my grandmother to take custody of me, which was great because i came out of my shell and learned a lot about the way life really is. Unfortunately she passed away two years later and i had custody revert to my dad, which was a nightmare too cuz he is a drug addict drunk that let my stepmom and stepsiblings kick my ass. So I decided to go back to my moms. I basically had to put up with a lot of bull sh-- until I got to college. During Spring Break my freshman year, I stood up for myself as my stepdad basically took advantage of my generosity to watch my lil brother. He proceeded to walk into my room and throw my stuff out into the yard. I gathered it up, but had nowhere to go, especially since my dad just begun a 3 year prison sentence. I made it to the next week and through the rest of the semester barely. I almost had to leave college until a financial aid counselor recognized my situation and help get me a financial aid independence override. This basically gave me maximum amount of grants and supplemented the rest of costs with loans. I was a Resident Assistant for a couple years, which saved me a lot of money in loans. Luckily the school also passed a policy that mandated health insurance within a year of me getting really sick. I had to battle through pretty bad illness in fall of 05, but in spite of that and my family situation, I am going to graduate in december with 5 and half years of college experience with mathematics teacher cert and coaching cert, plus being a college athlete and involved in other on campus roles. Wow that was a little bit of a tangent, but what i was trying to get at was that I am lucky to make it out of where i did, and i am lucky that the government helped me out immensely. I can proudly say that i have come so far, without the support of my immediate family, but with the support of friends (including TSW'ers) and cousins, aunts and uncles. Good for you. You should be very proud of your accomplishments and survival skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justnzane Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 wow, jzmack. You're just further proof that you never know what kind of pain any individual you come across might have experienced, and just how strong a person can be. You've every right to be proud of how far you've come. I wish you all the success you might hope for. Good for you. You should be very proud of your accomplishments and survival skills. Thanx, again. I am really humbled by this warm reception on the board. I really wasn't trying to turn the thread into a LAMP, but i really do appreciate the support, because it only encourages me to keep perservering. again thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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