Man sentenced to 10 years in prison for imprisoning 2 children in home for years

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- More than a year after a Milwaukee mother was sent to prison for chronic child neglect, her boyfriend learned his punishment on Monday, April 7. 

Katie Koch and Joel Manke were arrested in July of 2023, after Koch's two sons were found outside naked and covered in feces. 

Investigators learned the boys escaped through a window from a house filled with trash and human waste. 

Manke will spend ten years in prison for keeping the two children inside the Milwaukee home once described as a house out of a horror movie. 

"I see now that the living situation they were in was not a healthy environment for the boys at all, and I really wish, looking back, I would have done something about it earlier," Manke said. 

Manke claims he didn't realize the state of his home in July 2023 was neglectful. He had taken in Koch and her two sons a couple years prior and provided for the family. 

"He stated he never contacted police or schools about the children because he doesn't believe in doing that to family members," said the prosecutor.

Manke pleaded guilty to two counts of chronic neglect of a child on Monday, two counts of false imprisonment were dismissed as part of a plea deal. 

"The only reason why this ended for these boys is that they escaped," said Judge Rebecca Keifer.

Prosecutors described the state of Manke's home, where a 7 and 9-year-old were locked inside of a bedroom with boarded up windows. 

"Mr. Manke told officers at one point that he put up the boards so the kids didn't bother the neighbors and admitted that Katie uses the latch on the door to keep the kids locked in the room to keep them from wandering, and blamed it on the kids' autism," said the prosecutor.

Investigators say the room was infested with feces, insects, rodents, and trash. 

The boys hadn't been to school in years, they weren't potty trained and could barely speak.

Judge Rebecca Keifer called the situation "unthinkable." 

"This was confinement in a room covered in filth and chronic neglect that resulted in these children being deprived of normal human interaction," Judge Keifer said. 

Prosecutors say the boys are now in a fully staffed foster home. They're doing very well; a video from January 2025 shows them playing, speaking, and shaking a detective's hand. 

"It is so nice to see these two young men acting in this way, because the court remembers the circumstances of their escape in July of 2023," said Judge Keifer. 

Koch is also serving a ten-year sentence for the case. That means when Kock and Manke are released, the boys will be adults.