Poupart sentenced to prison for role in death of 6-year-old

George Poupart, 29, of Lac du Flambeau was sentenced Monday to 12 years in the Wisconsin prison system after pleading no contest to one count of child neglect with the consequence of death. Poupart’s prison term will be split between six years of initial confinement and six years extended supervision.

The extended supervision conditions set by Vilas County circuit judge Martha Milanowski include complying with all treatment recommendations as determined by a probation agent, complying with all AODA, mental health, cognitive behavioral treatment and parenting courses, court financial obligations and any department of corrections fees, and to maintain absolute sobriety. 

The court credited Poupart with 453 days already served.

Poupart was charged alongside Sheila Thompson, 33, also of Lac du Flambeau, after police arrived to their residence on Dec. 3, 2021, and found Thompson’s six-year-old son lying in the living room unresponsive.

According to the criminal complaint filed in June of 2022, investigators noted the child appeared abnormally thin and pale, wearing a soiled diaper and infested with lice. 

A Dec. 8 autopsy showed the child’s body to have weighed 39 pounds (below the first percentile for six-year-old boys) and the cause of death was believed to be due to complications from diabetic ketoacidosis — symptoms known to consist of excessive thirst, vomiting and abdominal pain.

Both Poupart and Thompson pleaded no contest, and Thompson was sentenced in Vilas County court on Aug. 18. 

She is to serve 14 years in the state prison system, with eight years of initial confinement and six years of extended supervision.

Trevor Greene may be reached via email at [email protected].