How Could You? Hall of Shame-Donald and Sharon Windey UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From De Pere, Wisconsin, adoptive parents Sharon Windey, 54, and Donald Windey “has been charged with several counts of child abuse and neglect of their adopted children. The abuse allegedly went on for over a decade despite reports to police and officials.”

“Sharon Windey, 54, appeared in Brown County court Thursday on charges of physical abuse of a child; strangulation and suffocation; battery; child neglect; and causing mental harm to a child.

On Friday, charges were filed against Windey’s husband, Donald. He appeared in court on charges of physical abuse of a child; strangulation and suffocation; child neglect; and causing mental harm to a child

A 42-page criminal complaint obtained by Action 2 News details years of emotional, physical, and mental abuse inside the Windey home.

The complaint states the investigation found “overwhelming” confirmation that since 2006, there have been Child Protective Services referrals, police contacts and reports from school officials about the three children being victims of physical abuse, mental abuse, child neglect and inappropriate sexual contact in the home on Sullivan Street.

On Feb. 12, 2018, De Pere Police assigned a sergeant to investigate reports of possible abuse at the home where the children lived with Sharon Windey, her husband Donald Windey, and the couple’s 25-year-old son Steven Windey. One of the kids described Steven as a “third parent.”

Investigators started interviewing the three adopted children–a girl aged 15; a girl aged 14; and a boy aged 15.

The kids described being punched, choked, spanked, thrown against a wall, hair pulling, food punishment and exercise punishment.

Both girls said the parents used “excessive feedings of oatmeal” as a punishment. The boy once threw up the oatmeal and the father “made him eat his own vomit and the oatmeal,” reads the complaint. The father told the boy “people were dying in Africa and he needed to eat the puke and oatmeal.”

One of the girls described locks on the freezer, cabinet and pantry.

One girl told investigators that her dad would make her sit on his lap and he would kiss her on the lips. She said he would also touch or grab the girls in other places on their bodies.

She also talked about a punishment in which the kids were forced to strip down to their underwear and kneel in front of a fireplace.

The kids described a shower punishment. If they took a shower longer than seven minutes, they would have to pay money for every minute they go over.

One of the girls said the parents are “very careful” to try not to leave visible marks on them.

The boy described the parents as “delusional … religious freaks.” The boy said his dad hears his guardian angel who tells him what to do.

“They are outgoing and they try to put up the facade of being the perfect family outside of our house,” the boy told investigators. “They will scare us with punishments. They will take things out of our room. For being disrespectful, they will hit them; slap them across the face and stuff. The hitting has happened multiple times.”

The boy described the day of Feb. 11, 2018. He said Donald wanted the kids to go to church but they refused. The father told them to clean everything out of their rooms. One of the girls was denied medicine for not going to church. He said the mom started struggling with one of the girls. During the struggle, the mother was pushed down the stairs. The boy said Steven heard the commotion and charged at him and started to punch him in the head.”

“The police arrived at the home. The boy said the officers told Sharon and Steven to call the police earlier so it doesn’t escalate to this point. The officers left.

Later there was another fight when when of the girls wanted medicine. After the fight, the kids went to a friend’s home. The man at the home called police to report the abuse.

On Feb. 15, the De Pere Police Sergeant interviewed Sharon and Donald Windey. At one point, Sharon said Donald saw a clown and demons next to one of the girls on the couch. “Donald said that was from the ‘IT’ movie,” Sharon explained.

Sharon said the children also see things. “Donald said he don’t know if there is evil hanging around them so he wants to be on the good side,” reads the criminal complaint.

The sergeant asked if the children get social security money. Sharon says they are a special needs adoption and get a stipend. “Sharon said you could not pay her enough money to take these children again,” reads the complaint.

A 19-year-old woman who had been adopted by the Windeys and had left the home also detailed years of abuse at the hands of her parents. She said the kids would “tell counselors, therapists, and teachers of what was happening in the house hoping for help.”

The complaint reads, “But each time CPS or police came and they were left in the house the rules and abuse just got worse on the kids and Donald and Sharon became more in charge.”

Steven Windey has not been charged but is named in the criminal complaint.”

De Pere couple charged with mental and physical abuse of adopted kids

[WBAY 3/8/18 by Brittany Schmidt]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update:”A De Pere man was found guilty Monday of eight counts of abusing his children.

Donald A. Windey, 53, had a six-day trial decided by Brown County Circuit Court Judge John Zakowski, instead of a jury. His wife, Sharon Windey, 56, is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday after being found guilty of similar charges in November.

The abuse went on for 12 years before the two were charged with abuse of four of their adopted children. Their biological son, Steven D. Windey, 28, was also involved in the abuse, typically as the enforcer, according to court documents.

Donald Windey was also charged with sexually assaulting three children.

Sharon Windey was charged March 8, 2018, and Donald Windey was charged one day after.

Donald Windey was found guilty of one felony count of repeated physical abuse of a child with probability of great bodily harm, as party to a crime; one felony count of strangulation and suffocation; four felony counts of mental harm to a child, as party to a crime; and two felony counts of repeated sexual assault of the same child.

He was found not guilty of a felony count of child abuse causing intentional harm and three misdemeanor counts of neglecting a child, as party to a crime.

De Pere police assigned an investigator to interview the children on Feb. 12, 2018, a day after Sharon Windey called police for a physical altercation in the home after the children refused to go to church the previous day.

A fourth child, who moved out of the house when she was 18, told investigators about similar behavior when she lived with the Windeys. De Pere police arrested Sharon, Donald and Steven Windey on Feb. 16, 2018.

One of the three children told investigators that police officers who visited the home on Feb. 11, 2018, did not seem to believe the children’s statements that they’d been hit and choked because their home didn’t appear to be a “typical house for abuse,” according to court documents, because the children appeared to be well-fed and went to a good school.

According to the criminal complaints and prosecution statements:

• The children were required to do a prayer ritual while standing on one foot wearing nothing but underwear, and were beaten with a belt if they lost their balance and put their foot down.
• The girls were forced to strip to their underwear and sit on Donald Windey’s lap and kiss him. They were forced to sleep with Donald Windey in bed when Sharon Windey was away, and he would touch and kiss their intimate parts.
• Steven Windey was often the designated enforcer of the physical abuse and put his hands around one of the children’s throat during a Feb. 11 incident.
• Donald Windey forced a sick child to eat vomit-covered food after they became ill during a meal.
• Sharon Windey used food as a form of punishment — often serving oatmeal for all three meals because the children didn’t like it
• Sharon and Donald Windey locked kitchen cupboards so the children didn’t have easy access to food.
• Donald Windey told the children he was “seeing demons” and “hearing voices” who were telling him to treat the children in this manner and that by doing so he was doing right by God.
• Sharon and Donald Windey told the children they didn’t like them anymore and that they could no longer call them mom and dad.
• Sharon and Donald Windey donated all of the children’s belongings to Goodwill in February, leaving each child with a bed and five days’ worth of clothes.

Sharon Windey is a retired Wisconsin state inspector and Donald Windey was active in his church.

Donald Windey’s bond was revoked, and he was taken into custody Monday. He is expected to be sentenced March 20. He could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Their son, Steven Windey, will appear for a plea hearing Feb. 7.”

Donald Windey of De Pere found guilty of 8 counts of abusing children
[Green Bay Gazette 01/14/2020 by Benita Mathew]

“A De Pere woman was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday for abusing her adopted children.

A jury found Sharon M. Windey, 56, guilty on eight counts of abusing four children over a span of 12 years.

Her sentencing came a day after Brown County Circuit Court Judge John Zakowski found her husband, Donald A. Windey, 53, guilty of multiple counts of physical, mental, and sexual abuse of the children.

Their biological son, Steven D. Windey, is scheduled for a plea hearing on Feb. 7 in connection to charges related to his role in the abuse.

Sharon Windey, a former Wisconsin state trooper, will also serve four years of extended supervision.

Three of the children spoke to the court during Wednesday’s hearing about what they’ve endured.

“I am proud of who I have become. I am so proud of who my siblings have become. Despite all of the obstacles in our lives, I am grateful that I get to watch them thrive in their lives today,” one of the girls said.

According to a criminal complaint, police were contacted by school officials, social workers, and others claiming the couple and their son were abusing the three children.

The fourth child, now an adult, had left the Windey’s home. She reported similar abuse when interviewed by police.

According to the criminal complaint and prosecution statements:

• The children were required to do a prayer ritual while standing on one foot wearing nothing but underwear, and were beaten with a belt if they lost their balance and put their foot down.
• Steven Windey was often the designated enforcer of the physical abuse and put his hands around one of the children’s throat during a Feb. 11 incident.
• Sharon Windey used food as a form of punishment — often serving oatmeal for all three meals because the children didn’t like it.
• Sharon and Donald Windey locked kitchen cupbards so the children didn’t have easy access to food.
• Sharon and Donald Windey told the children they didn’t like them anymore and that they could no longer call them mom and dad.
• Sharon and Donald Windey donated all of the children’s belongings to Goodwill in February, leaving each child with a bed and five days’ worth of clothes.

Zakowski sentenced Windey to concurrently serve her sentences on each count over a four year span. Prosecutors had recommended she serve 20 years in prison.

“I’m going to show you more mercy than you ever showed those children,” Zakowski told her.

As part of her sentence, she must write a letter of apology to each of the abused children.

In court Wednesday, Sharon denied many of the abusive incidents and statements she was accused of making toward her children, but said she understands that she hurt them.

“We honest to god felt in our hearts that we were doing the right thing,” she said.”

Sharon Windey sentenced to 4 years in prison in De Pere child abuse case
[Green Bay Press Gazette 01/15/2020 by Benita Mathew]

Update 2:”A De Pere man was sentenced to 17 years in prison Wednesday for abusing four adopted children.

Donald A. Windey, 54, and his wife, Sharon M. Windey, 56, abused the children for 12 years before being charged. The Windeys’ biological son, Steven D. Windey, 28, was also involved in the abuse, typically as the enforcer, according to court documents.

An investigator interviewed the children on Feb. 12, 2018, after Sharon Windey called De Pere police for a physical altercation in the home when the children refused to go to church the day before.

Police had visited the Windeys’ home before that day, but the children said the officers didn’t believe them because their house didn’t seem like the “typical house for abuse” and the children went to a good school, according to court documents.

De Pere police arrested Sharon, Donald and Steven Windey on Feb. 16, 2018.

Following a six-day trial in January, Donald Windey was found guilty of eight counts of abusing the adopted children, including two counts of repeated sexual assault of children.

One of the children spoke in the hearing and said that while Donald Windey thought what he did was right, he should be held accountable, and an apology won’t make a difference to the victims.

Donald Windey’s family members and his religious leaders shared statements in court about his character, but Brown County Circuit Court Judge John Zakowski and prosecutor Wendy Lemkuil argued that most of them were limited in their view because they weren’t living at the house at the time.

“This was a house of horrors behind closed doors,” Lemkuil said.

Windey apologized in the hearing and said many of his and Sharon Windey’s actions came from frustration because they “didn’t know what we were doing” in raising the children.

Their son, Steven, was sentenced to 18 months of probation in February. Sharon Windey is serving four years in prison.

Zakowski said Donald Windey would serve a longer sentence than his wife because of the trauma and harm he imposed from sexually assaulting the girls. He said the couple should have even been flagged before adopting the children.

“The Windeys shouldn’t have been able to adopt these children. They believe in corporal punishment,” Zakowski said, adding, “you can’t foster care children who have been abused and you can’t adopt them.”

According to a criminal complaint, police were contacted by school officials, social workers and others claiming the couple and their son were abusing the three children.

The fourth child, now an adult, had left the Windeys’ home. She reported similar abuse when interviewed by police.

According to the criminal complaint and prosecution statements:

• The children were required to do a prayer ritual while standing on one foot wearing nothing but underwear, and were beaten with a belt if they lost their balance and put their foot down.
• The girls were forced to sit on Donald Windey’s lap and kiss him, and he fondled them in bed when their mother was away.
• Donald Windey forced a sick child to eat vomit-covered food after the child became ill during a meal.
• Steven Windey was often the designated enforcer of the physical abuse and put his hands around one of the children’s throat during a Feb. 11, 2018, incident.
• Donald Windey told the children he was “seeing demons” and “hearing voices” who were telling him to treat the children in this manner and that by doing so he was doing right by God.
• Sharon Windey used food as a form of punishment — often serving oatmeal for all three meals because the children didn’t like it.
• Sharon and Donald Windey locked kitchen cupboards so the children didn’t have easy access to food.
• Sharon and Donald Windey told the children they didn’t like them anymore and that they could no longer call them Mom and Dad.
• Sharon and Donald Windey donated all of the children’s belongings to Goodwill in February, leaving each child with a bed and five days’ worth of clothes.

Donald Windey was found guilty of one felony count of repeated physical abuse of a child with probability of great bodily harm, as party to a crime; one felony count of strangulation and suffocation; four felony counts of mental harm to a child, as party to a crime; and two felony counts of repeated sexual assault of the same child.

He will also serve 16 years on extended supervision.”

‘A house of horrors’: De Pere man gets 17 years in prison for abusing, sexually assaulting adopted children

[Green Bay Press Gazette 7/29/2020 by Benita Mathew]