Oprah Winfrey takes 'Girl in a cage' Chelsea Rogers back to basement after 14 years
'Girl in a cage' finally breaks her silence 14 years after she was released from torture basement
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For years she was known only as the 'girl in a cage' after she was discovered locked up in the basement of her parents' house in Brillion, Milwaukee.
But last night Chelsea Rogers, now 21, appeared confident speaking on The Oprah Winfrey Show as she relived the years of abuse and torture, and even revisited the room where she was kept in a dog cage measuring just 24 x 17 inches.
And she told Oprah her sole purpose in life is to give her 18-month-old son James the childhood her parents took from her.
Painful memories: Chelsea breaks down in tears as she sees the basement floor where she used to be kept inside a dog cage
Harrowing journey: Chelsea Rogers, now 21, revisits the cold dark cellar where she was kept locked in a tiny dog cage by her parents
Chelsea was only rescued when one of her four brothers, who were also tortured, managed to raise the alarm after he was kicked out following a beating.
The 11-year-old walked barefoot - in freezing conditions - to the police station, where he told officers about Chelsea, then seven.
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ShareHe described how his little sister was locked up in a tiny wire cage in the basement, beaten with wooden clubs and barely fed.
Their parents, Michael and Angeline Rogers, who were then 28, received just one year in prison for the abuse, followed by ten years of probation.
Hellish home: The house where Chelsea was abused. She can barely remember its exterior because she was so rarely allowed outside
Chelsea said: '[My parents] had ten years of probation after their one year in jail, and I think they should have spent those ten years suffering as I spent my seven years suffering.'
She spent the subsequent years being shunted between various foster homes and adoptive parents.
Oprah first featured Chelsea's case during a programme in April 2000 on 'tortured children' and her appearance on the show last night focused on how she is coping as an adult after her ordeal.
Chelsea has been in and out of therapy but is not currently seeing a counsellor. She told Oprah: 'I really strive to go forward in my life and be happy and not be weighed down by such things.'
She still remembers being in the cage. But she said: 'It still feels like it happened to somebody else.
When Oprah asked her how long she was locked up, she said: 'I was in there to have to go to the bathroom, to be hungry, to want to get out and stretch my legs.
'It's hard to talk about because my memories are so fragmented, and we didn't have mirrors or anything, so I didn't know my age. I didn't know what I looked like.'
Feeling fine: Now 21, Chelsea was rescued from the cellar at the age of seven when one of her brothers managed to raise the alarm
The way she was: Young Chelsea was rarely allowed outside her parents' house. She was beaten and often confined to the basement
During the show, Chelsea revisited the house where she was kept a prisoner .
As she was rarely allowed outside, she barely recognised the exterior of the house. Once inside, she remembered the wood of the main staircase, and told how her parents once tied her up with duct tape and made her stand in the corner of the room.
But when they opened the door to the basement, the full force of her memories came flooding back.
'This is terrible,' she said, going down the stairs and looking around the basement.
Years of torture: Michael and Angeline Rogers kept their daughter Chelsea locked in a dog cage in the basement
'I remember this so much. And there’s the shelves. And the window [a tiny basement window]. I sat in the window and looked outside. This is so real. Now, being down here, I remember. And the light. It’s terrible.'
As she broke down in tears, she pointed to the spot on the floor where the cage used to be. 'I remember it, right here,' she said. 'A metal cage that I lived in, slept in. I had a tan blanket that I curled up with and slept with.'
She said she would scream to be allowed to go to the bathroom, but her parents wouldn't let her out - then they scolded her for going on the floor.
She did not tell anyone in school about her abuse when it was happening because 'It was normal to me. I thought every child went home and did that.'
Chelsea said today she has no relationship with either of her biological parents. She tracked down her father when she was pregnant with James to find out more about her background, but said she has never tried to find her mother.
Police Chief Daniel Alloy, who rescued her, said Chelsea has become a daughter to him since they met up again a year ago.
Concerned: Oprah urged Chelsea to continue with counselling for the sake of her son, but she said her parenting skills come from knowing what not to do
Oprah was impressed by Chelsea's poise and positive attitude, but was concerned about her relationship with her son.
Oprah urged her to continue with counselling for his sake, but Chelsea said her parenting skills come from knowing what not to do and was confident she was doing a good job.
She told Oprah: 'I go to sleep every night saying I will never do what my parents did to me. I want him to grow up not having to worry about somebody not being there for him, and he's got plenty of love.'
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