Sophie Carson

Oshkosh Northwestern

OSHKOSH - Two foster parents did not allow three teens under their care to leave their bedrooms and made them use buckets for toilets, Winnebago County prosecutors say.

Alan D. Small, 35, and his mother, Barbara R. Peterson, 60, both of Oshkosh, were charged Wednesday in Winnebago County Circuit Court with three counts each of chronic child neglect.

Police interviewed two teens, both 15, who attend Oshkosh West High School and live in Small and Peterson’s licensed foster home on 11th Street, as well as a 16-year-old who lived there until November, according to court documents. Prosecutors say the children lived with strict rules and fear of retribution.

Small and Peterson made the teens use buckets in their bedroom as toilets, with Peterson dumping the bucket’s contents in the backyard daily, according to the criminal complaint. The children also had to hose out the buckets, even in cold or bad weather.

The duo also did not allow the teens to leave their bedrooms, which police reported smelled of urine and feces and contained only a bed and the bucket, with no personal items, according to court documents.

The thermostat was set at 57 degrees, according to the complaint, and police said the bed’s blankets did not look warm enough for that temperature.

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The bedroom doors were not locked, but an alarm sounded when they opened, so Peterson and Small would know a teen had opened the door, according to the complaint. The rule was: don’t leave the bedroom unless Peterson opens the door.

Punishments for opening the door or leaving were harsh, according to the complaint. One teen said he had to hold a chair over his head, and they had buckets for toilets because they ran away from the foster home. Other punishments include holding a "plank" position, running back and forth carrying a weighted blanket or holding their arms high behind their back.

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, Small and Peterson were not held in Winnebago County Jail. If convicted all counts, they each could spend up to 18 years each in prison.

Peterson and Small face their first court appearance March 25.

Calls to the De Pere-based placement agency through which Small and Peterson were licensed went unanswered late Thursday afternoon. It is unclear if the teens still live with Small and Peterson.