Caged girl, now 22, empathizes with starved teen

APPLETON, Wis. (AP) — A malnourished 7-year-old girl kept in a dog cage in the basement of her family’s Brillion house is now a 22-year-old mother and college student who’s offering support to a Madison teenager who police say was starved and confined to the basement.

Chelsea Vosters tells WISN-TV her heart goes out to the 15-year-old girl who weighed just 70 pounds when she was discovered earlier this month. The teen’s father and stepmother are accused of abusing her.

Vosters says she would love to talk to the girl and tell her she isn’t alone and offer support and encouragement. She says she wants her to know that things will get better with time.

Vosters says through counseling she has learned how to forgive. She says she wants to give her 2-year-old son everything she never had.