Missing boy Elijah Vue, 3, faced "punishments" including being forced to take cold showers and standing for hours while saying prayers, authorities said.
A Wisconsin mother and her boyfriend have been charged in connection with the disappearance of her 3-year-old son, Elijah Vue, who has been missing for a week and is the subject of an Amber Alert.
The toddler had been living with Jesse Vang, 39, the partner of mother Katrina Baur, 31, who allegedly told police she had sent the toddler to Vang so he could "learn to be a man," according to criminal complaints filed against the adults by prosecutors in Manitowoc County.
Vang and Baur were charged Monday. She faces a count of felony child neglect as party to a crime and two counts of misdemeanor obstruction of an officer. Vang was charged with with felony child neglect.
Vang is being held at the Monitowoc County Jail in lieu of $20,000 cash bail, according to online records. Baur is being held on cash bond of $15,000.
Neither has entered a plea.
The little boy was reported missing on Feb. 20 by Vang, who said he had woke up at 7:30 a.m. and roused Elijah, who was sleeping on the couch, authorities said. He fed the boy cereal without milk, then ordered the toddler to stand by Vang's bed and pray because the child had soiled his diaper, according to police.
Vang said he woke up three hours to find Elijah gone, authorities said.
Baur told investigators she had left her son with Vang for several days because he was the disciplinarian for the boy, and she wanted him to teach Elijah "how to be a man," authorities said.
The mother allegedly said she wanted Vang to punish the boy for his bad behavior, which included not being potty trained, according to authorities.
Vang said his discipline involved making Elijah stand for one to three hours in "time outs," during which he was told to pray and to repeat “I’m sorry, Mommy,” the complaints allege.
Vang also told investigators that he created a "boot camp" environment for the boy to make him understand that "going home was a privilege," the complaints allege.
Investigators said they had seized cellphones belonging to Vang and Baur as part of their investigation into the boy's disappearance. Days before Elijah went missing, Vang texed Baur he was "angry" the boy had "overfilled his diaper with poop and pee," and had put him in a cold shower, the complaints contend.
Vang then texted the boy was "clean but scared," the complaints allege.
Both adults are scheduled for preliminary hearings on March 7, according to court records. Inside Edition Digital has reached out for comment to their public defender.
Meanwhile, law enforcement and volunteers continue to search for Elijah.
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