Parents arrested after 7 kids found living in deplorable conditions, police say

SELLERSVILLE, Pa. (KYW) - A mother and father in Pennsylvania are facing charges after seven children were found living in deplorable conditions.

Investigators said the walls and floors of the home were disintegrating, and the children needed emergency medical attention.

Police said they are thankful that a concerned neighbor called 911.

“It irritates me,” the neighbor, Tammy Dehaven, said.

A mother of four, Dehaven became concerned after she saw a neighbor’s child, who appeared malnourished, go into an abandoned trailer last month.

So she called the police.

“I figured the trailer park couldn’t do anything about it,” she said. “So, I figured I would call the police and see if they could come in and do something.”

Officers with the Pennridge Regional Police Department quickly responded.

They said they made a disturbing discovery at this home.

Police said seven children between the ages of four and 16 were found in the home. Police reported they were wearing filthy clothes and living in deplorable conditions, with disintegrating floors, bugs and a lack of food.

“As part of the medical treatment that the children had, there was some significant dental health issues and some issues with some eye care and malnourishment,” Pennridge Regional Police Chief Paul Dickinson said.

An affidavit of probable cause alleges “none of the seven children had any formal education, and all lacked basic knowledge.”

The affidavit also alleges some of the children did not know their own birth dates.

“It’s horrible,” Dehaven said.

Police charged the children’s parents, 47-year-old Shane Robertson and 37-year-old Crystal Robertson, with seven felony counts of endangering the welfare of children.

Both are free on bail.

“How? How could you do that to a child? I hope they’re taken care of,” Dehaven said. “That’s what they deserve. They deserve to be children.”

Some neighbors say they knew something wrong was going on inside that home, but they didn’t know who to call about it.

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