By Shereen Siewert
Jurors this week convicted a former Weston man accused of tying up an 8-year-old boy and forcing him to sit in his own waste for two days of child abuse charges, following a four-day trial in Shawano County.
Nathan Pogrant, 40, of Eland, was tried on multiple felony counts after an investigation began in October 2019, after the boy was found, hungry, dirty and wearing large shoes that did not fit him, walking on Hwy. 45 alone.
The boy initially police he had been dropped off there. But he later disclosed to investigators he had spent two nights locked in the basement, wearing a hooded “straight jacket” and tied to a chair with a cord around his body and bike locks on his legs. Investigators say the boy had bruises on his shoulder and face and what appeared to be a rope mark on his stomach.
A trial began Monday.
On Thursday, a jury found him guilty of child abuse/intentionally causing harm, reckless child abuse with the probability of great harm, false imprisonment and six counts of bail jumping. He was acquitted of several additional counts of false imprisonment and a charge of possessing marijuana.
The boy’s condition shocked police and prosecutors, who said he had only been fed a single peanut butter sandwich one day before he escaped the home. The boy said “Nathan” would play music and turn up the volume to drown out the sound of the boy’s crying.
The boy’s mother, who has not been charged with a crime, confirmed the boy’s story and said she didn’t know why she did not put a stop to the alleged abuse. The boy told police he escaped by loosening the hoodie and untying the cord around his stomach before wriggling out of the bicycle locks on his legs. While Pogrant and the boy’s mother were asleep, he crept away from the home and began walking.
Jurors deliberated for several hours Thursday before a verdict was announced. A sentencing date for Pogrant, who remains behind bars, has not been set.
