Brookfield couple may have locked teenage daughter in basement; why was it a year before anyone intervened?

BROOKFIELD (WITI) -- Brookfield police say a couple may have locked their teenage daughter in the basement, and forced her to wear a diaper. The girl came to school covered in feces, and now, her parents are being investigated for child neglect.

On March 3rd, Brookfield police got a call from an anonymous parent. That caller said a teenage girl was being kept in the basement of a home in Brookfield, and she was "being treated like an animal."

The girl lived in the home with her mother and stepfather.

According to a search warrant filed last week in Waukesha County, the girl's stepfather found her so disgusting, she was locked in the basement every day after school. The teenager told school officials she was forced to wear a diaper and an adult onesie that zipped from the back.

Police say the girl wasn't allowed to use the toilet, brush her teeth or shower. They say the girl came to school at least seven times covered in dry feces, and she was sometimes wearing a pull-up diaper.

The girl's teacher at Wisconsin Hills Middle School reported her concerns to the Waukesha Department of Health and Human Services in December 2014 when the girl arrived at school with dried feces in her hair and on her shirt -- but it wasn't until last week police got involved, even though reports show the family had been working with a "family support specialist" since the spring of 2014.

According to police, that specialist had seen the girl's living conditions -- a room in the basement with cement block walls, concrete floors, a single cot and a box of pull-ups.

It is unclear why it took a year before anyone intervened.

The teenager's parents have not been arrested.

The District Attorney's Office is currently deciding whether to file charges in this case.

Neighbors say the couple has two small children, but they say they had no idea there was a teenager living at that home.

Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.