Pennsylvania: 7 children lived with rats and feces

Parents have been charged in Pennsylvania after seven children were found living in a home with rats in cages and a padlocked refrigerator, police say. 

Both parents arrested after authorities found 'unsanitary' and 'unsafe' living conditions; feces were even found on the floor, according to CNN.

These are the parents charged with seven counts of felony child endangerment counts.
Shane & Crystal Robertson of Sellersville.
Their kids ages 4-16 were found living in deplorable conditions with a padlock on the refrigerator door. At least one child was found w/maggots. pic.twitter.com/LtBcQLEnNk

— Annie McCormick (@6abcAnnie) May 25, 2023

The police intervention came after reports that three children had entered an abandoned trailer, north of Philadelphia .

When the police found the children, they took them home, near the abandoned caravan. It was there that officers saw the living conditions these children were living in.

The mother, Crystal Robertson, told police she had locked the refrigerator because her children were “stealing everything and called his children “legged garbage disposals,” according to the affidavit.

When officers later returned after filing a report to Children's Services, they discovered four more children.

One of the rooms housed two dozen caged rats.

>

“There was also a very bad smell, and bugs,” the affidavit reads. It was also noted that “two dogs, two turtles, two rabbits, snakes, toads and a four-legged reptile” were also in the house.

The children were cared for by the protection and transported to a hospital for treatment.

Further investigations revealed that none of the seven children had attended school and that they lacked basic knowledge. They also showed signs of anxiety, according to police.

Medical evaluations also concluded that the children were “clinically underweight and malnourished”.

“The The children's personal hygiene was worrying, and two of the children even had to have their hair shaved,” authorities said.