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Father charged with abandonment

Boys locked in room while suspect got drunk, police say

Judge Troy Nielsen issued a warrant for the arrest of Ernesto J. Newton, 27.

Newton is charged with two counts of felony child abandonment, one count of felony child neglect and one misdemeanor count of child neglect.

On Dec. 30, 2019, Officer Katie Boerst met with a Waupaca woman at the Manawa Police Station.

The woman said she and Newton had two children in common, ages 6 and 3.

A Waushara County court order gave them joint custody, with the condition that they maintain absolute sobriety when with the children.

Newton, who worked in a bar, has two drunken driving convictions.

The mother said Newton had custody of the boys from 8 p.m. Dec. 23 through 8 p.m. Dec. 24. Then he had them again beginning at 2 p.m. Dec. 25.

While he had custody of the boys, Newton allegedly locked them in a room while he went out drinking, according to the criminal complaint.

Manawa police also reported a man entered a family’s home without permission around 2 a.m. on Dec. 24.

The man was highly intoxicated and had urinated himself.

He fled the house when the family called the police.

Police identified the man as Newton from a Snapchat video taken of the incident.

Boerst also met with a Manawa couple who had allowed Newton to stay in their apartment, beginning in September 2019.

They said Newton kept the boys in his room, did not feed them but purchased snacks for himself.

The couple fed the boys and gave them Christmas presents because Newton did not.

Newton allegedly locked the boys in the room while he went out drinking.

They had no access to the bathroom so they urinated in a trash can.

The housemates, who work nights, did not realize exactly what was happening to the boys.

Locked room

They showed Boerst the room where Newton had stayed.

“There was an immediate smell which hung heavy in the air. It smelled of terrible body odor, urine and general dirtiness,” the complaint says. “There were stains of unknown origin all over the carpeting, as well as alcohol bottles and cans throughout the room.”

Boerst observed a homemade lock comprised of eye hooks on the door and frame and a carabiner hanging from one of the hooks.

The device allowed an adult to reach through the door to lock it from the outside, but it was out of reach for a child.

“Had there been a fire, the children would’ve been unable to escape the room,” the complaint says.

The housemates told Boerst that Newton came home drunk around 2 a.m. Friday, Dec. 27.

He passed out and the boys were unable to leave the room.

Newton’s housemates did not find out about this situation until the next day.

When they told Newton they thought he was a bad parent, he became angry at them.

The couple let the boys out of the room after Newton went into the garage and began punching the wall.

The 3-year-old had a diaper so loaded with feces it stuck to his body and he had to be bathed.

On Dec. 29, the couple told Newton he needed to leave.

They said they struggled with this decision because they were concerned about what would happen to the boys.

They told Boerst that Newton had lived in 13 different places within the past year.

Newton faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of felony child abandonment.

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