Authorities in Wisconsin, US, are still searching for the little boy. (Representative pic)

The mother of a missing 3-year-old boy and her boyfriend have been charged with child neglect, nearly a week after the child was last seen. According to Fox59, authorities in Wisconsin, US, are still searching for the little boy after he was sent to be with his mother’s boyfriend as a form of punishment. The boy, identified as Elijah Vue, was last seen on February 20 in the city of Twi Rivers while he was being watched by Jesse Vang, a man who was in a relationship with the boy’s mother, Katrina Baur. 

According to Fox59, Mr Vang, 39, told cops that he noticed that the 3-year-old was gone when he woke up from a nap at his home. He also said that he has been trying to help Elijah’s mother correct the little boy’s “bad behaviours”. 

Separately, Ms Baur, 31, said that her son has been in the care of Mr Vang for about a week. She added that Mr Vang is the “enforcer of rules” in the relationship, which is why she sent her son to stay with him. 

Citing the complaint, the outlet reported that some of the examples of the discipline included praying, saying he was sorry, and going over the rule the 3-year-old was supposed to be memorising. Ms Baur also told authorities she wanted Mr Vang to teach Elijah by example how to “be a man”. 

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Mr Vang also told a detective that the toddler was mostly bottle-fed and was not potty-trained. He said Elijah was not allowed to play with the one toy he had while staying at his home from February 12 to February 20 because he was in “time out”. 

According to CNN, the evening before Elijah was last seen, Mr Vang had three 12-ounce beers and a muscle relaxant as a sleep aid. The following morning, Mr Vang took his son to a bus stop and then gave Elijah cereal without milk for breakfast. Mr Vang also said that the toddler did not have his diaper changed that morning and was told to stand and pray at the foot of Mr Vang’s bed. 

On Monday, Ms Baur was formally charged with one felony county of party-to-a-crime of child neglect and two misdemeanour counts of resisting or obstructing an officer. Mr Vang, on the other hand, was formally charged with one felony count of party-to-a-crime child neglect.