A Wisconsin man will spend the next five years in prison after his six young children were discovered living inside a padlocked storage unit without electricity, running water, or any way to call for help.
Charles Dupriest, 33, was sentenced on Thursday, April 9, following a January conviction on nine charges, including felony child neglect and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Along with his prison term, a judge ordered Dupriest to serve five years of extended supervision and complete parenting classes and mental health treatment.
The case dates back to September 16, 2025, when Milwaukee police and firefighters responded to a storage facility near 27th Street and Silver Spring Drive around 1:30 a.m. Rescuers had to cut a padlock to reach the children—ranging in age from just 2 months old to 9 years—after reports surfaced of a child crying inside.
Inside the unit, investigators found a scene they described as “putrid.” With no plumbing, the children were forced to use a bucket as a bathroom. The only light in the windowless space came from a small crack at the bottom of the door. While the children remained locked inside, Dupriest and the children’s mother, 26-year-old Azyia Zielinski, were found sleeping in an SUV in the facility’s parking lot.
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The older children told authorities they were left to care for their infant sibling and were instructed to stay quiet so they wouldn’t be discovered. They admitted to searching for food in the trash and described being hit as punishment. Zielinski later told investigators the family had been staying in the unit for about six weeks, despite having other housing options available to them.
During the trial, prosecutors pushed back against any suggestion that the family’s living situation was a result of financial hardship. “This case is not about punishing poverty,” Assistant District Attorney Thomas Hasle told the court. “It is about holding a parent accountable for choices that put children in danger.” Prosecutors noted that Dupriest had previously turned down offers of help from other family members.
Before his sentence was handed down, Dupriest spoke to the court, arguing that his incarceration would only further harm his children. “My absence has affected them, and me being absent from them further would continue to affect them negatively,” he said.
While Dupriest faced a maximum of 14 years, his five-year sentence was tied primarily to the firearm charge, with 18-month sentences for the neglect charges running concurrently.
Zielinski previously pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of child neglect in January. On March 19, she received an 18-month sentence at the House of Correction, which was stayed in favor of 18 months of probation.
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