US Parents Arrested After 7 Children Found Living with Caged Rats, Snakes, Faeces

Two parents in the US have been arrested after the police found their seven children living in “unsanitary and unsafe conditions” with caged rats and faeces on the home’s floor.

The children were found malnourished and had social anxiety after living in the miserable conditions.

The condition of the children came to light after Pennsylvania authorities, earlier this week, received reports of three children entering an abandoned trailer near Philadelphia, a report in CNN said.

The Pennsylvania Police later found the children and returned them to their homes next to the abandoned trailer.

However, the police found the children living in “deplorable living conditions” and a refrigerator secured with a padlock.

Crystal Robertson, the mother, said she locked the refrigerator because the children were “‘stealing’ everything and referred to the children as ‘garbage disposals with legs.’”

The police later found four more children inside. The report said that one of the rooms had over two dozen rats locked in cages and faeces was found on the floor of another area of the home.

“There was also a bad odour and several bugs,” the police affidavit read.

The police also found two dogs, two turtles, two rabbits, snakes, toads and a four-foot reptile in the home.

The children were taken into protective custody and transported to a hospital for medical treatment, the report added.

An investigation later revealed that none of the seven children attended school and lacked basic knowledge.

They also exhibited social anxiety and were found “clinically underweight and malnourished.”

“Personal hygiene of the children was also found to be concerning, resulting in two of the children having to shave their hair due to severe matting,” according to police statement.

The father, Shane William Robertson, and the mother were charged with seven felony counts for endangering the welfare of children.