By Roxana Navarro
Mar 28, 2024, 10:21 PM EDT
Two people were charged with child abuse and elder abuse after police found four children living in “horrible” unsanitary conditions in a Visalia home in California.
The discovery of the situation in which the family lived in a house, where garbage and dirt can visibly be seen, was due to the Visalia Police Department being called to the Kaweah Health Medical Center by a 52-year-old woman , which they had left abandoned.
The woman’s health conditions, the doctors said, were extremely emaciated and distressed. When the officers arrived at the hospital, they requested the assistance of the Violent Crimes Unit to investigate the reason for the woman’s health condition.
Visalia police reported that the woman at the hospital was under the care of one of her daughters, so they went to the victim’s home, but first obtained a search warrant.
“Living conditions were horrible”
Authorities arrived at 600 North Garden Street in Visalia in Tulare County, 3 hours from Los Angeles.
At the home were Cecilia Colleen Rodríguez, 34 years old, Gregory Paul Chávez, 61 years old, and four children between 4 and 15 years old, but the biggest surprise for the officers was seeing the terrible conditions in which they lived, since that the house was full of garbage and insects.
“The living conditions were horrible, with bugs, feces and garbage scattered throughout the home,” Visalia police described when they came across the unsanitary place.
Police said Adult Protective Services, Child Welfare Services and Code Enforcement were called to the family’s home to verify living conditions, which were described as a “dangerous environment.”
Children placed in the custody of child services
The four children, whose identities were not revealed because they are minors, were placed in the custody of Child Welfare Services, so that they can take charge of them and also carry out studies to determine the condition of their health.
As for the woman, 52 years old, the police said that she is currently stable; No information was provided regarding her identity.
Cecilia Colleen Rodríguez and Gregory Paul Chávez were arrested by Visalia officers, both were charged with elder abuse, as well as neglect and child abuse.
It was not specified what the sentence for the couple would be for keeping them in unhealthy conditions, putting the health of minors at risk.
Keep reading:
- Former California prison officer sentenced to six years after sexually abusing female inmates
- Coroner reveals cause of death of Shaylee Mejía, after fights at school in Los Angeles: accidental trauma
- Police fatally shoot man who claimed to have a bomb in California’s Wells Fargo