Rob - banned
03-09-2005, 02:47 AM
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Seven children who were found without proper food and living among bags of garbage were removed from a home while their parents were arrested, police said.
The children were placed in the care of a Broward County child welfare agency after they were removed Monday from their parents, who were charged with child neglect, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.
Three small children, between the ages of 4 months and 4 years, were taken to an emergency room Monday for treatment of possible malnourishment, and four others of unknown ages later were taken to Plantation General Hospital for a medical evaluation, the sheriff's office said.
All seven children were in good condition at the hospital and were expected to be released. Officials were considering keeping the infant overnight for observation, sheriff's spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said.
Sheriff's investigators went to the apartment of Tonya Brown, 27, and her boyfriend Miguel Shimabuco, 26, who have three children together and at least four more children individually, the report said.
The sheriff's office conducts child abuse and neglect investigations under contract with the Department of Children & Families. The investigation showed that the caregivers did not provide adequate nutrition, clothing, supervision, medical attention or shelter for the children.
The refrigerator contained moldy food, the apartment was filled with an "unhealthy stench," bags of garbage were strewn throughout the place and the bathtub was littered with dog feces, the reports said
Several of the children were sick with flu-like symptoms, said Dave Erdman, a fire-rescue spokesman.
Brown had previously been warned about the living conditions, the report said. She and Shimabuco were also charged Monday with contributing to delinquency. Information on their bond and lawyer was not immediately available.
The children were placed in the care of a Broward County child welfare agency after they were removed Monday from their parents, who were charged with child neglect, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.
Three small children, between the ages of 4 months and 4 years, were taken to an emergency room Monday for treatment of possible malnourishment, and four others of unknown ages later were taken to Plantation General Hospital for a medical evaluation, the sheriff's office said.
All seven children were in good condition at the hospital and were expected to be released. Officials were considering keeping the infant overnight for observation, sheriff's spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said.
Sheriff's investigators went to the apartment of Tonya Brown, 27, and her boyfriend Miguel Shimabuco, 26, who have three children together and at least four more children individually, the report said.
The sheriff's office conducts child abuse and neglect investigations under contract with the Department of Children & Families. The investigation showed that the caregivers did not provide adequate nutrition, clothing, supervision, medical attention or shelter for the children.
The refrigerator contained moldy food, the apartment was filled with an "unhealthy stench," bags of garbage were strewn throughout the place and the bathtub was littered with dog feces, the reports said
Several of the children were sick with flu-like symptoms, said Dave Erdman, a fire-rescue spokesman.
Brown had previously been warned about the living conditions, the report said. She and Shimabuco were also charged Monday with contributing to delinquency. Information on their bond and lawyer was not immediately available.