MANITOWOC, Wis. — A man who was caring for a 3-year-old Wisconsin boy when he disappeared in late February pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of chronic child neglect.
Jesse Vang, 39, entered the plea during his arraignment in a Manitowoc County court. A judge on April 4 ordered Vang to stand trial on counts of neglect in Elijah Vue’s disappearance.
Vang is being held on a $20,000 bond.
He is the boyfriend of Elijah’s mother, Katrina Baur of Wisconsin Dells, who was charged in February with one felony count of child neglect by a party to a crime and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer. She has pleaded not guilty and is being held on a $15,000 bond.
Elijah was last seen at Vang’s home in Two Rivers, about 30 miles southeast of Green Bay. Baur left her son with Vang because she wanted him to teach the youngster “how to be a man,” according to a criminal complaint.
Vang called police on February 20 and reported the boy missing. He told officers he had taken a nap and took the 3-year-old into the bedroom, but when he woke up three hours later, the boy was gone. Regular searches for the child have been conducted and are still ongoing.
