Seven Kids Found Living Among Rats, Snakes and Maggots in Pennsylvania Home

Seven children—one maggot-infested—have been rescued from a squalid trailer where they were kept with numerous animals and a padlocked fridge, investigators say.

Most of the youngsters, who aged from 4 to 16, were malnourished, had never attended school, and suffered from a variety of medical issues, police said, adding that two were forced to have their heads shaved due to severely matted locks. One child's hair was crawling with maggots. Parents Shane Robertson, 47, and Crystal Robertson, 37, were arrested on suspicion of endangering the welfare of children at their West Rockhill Township home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

The distressing case comes after experts warned how widespread child abuse is across the U.S., with a study published last August suggesting that school closures during the pandemic may have allowed some cases to slip under the radar. "Child maltreatment is a vexing problem in the U.S.," said study author Maria Fitzpatrick, a professor of economics and public policy at Cornell University's Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy. "To protect children, we need to better understand why so many are maltreated—13 percent according to one study and 4 in 10 according to another[...] Early detection is crucial because it leads to quicker intervention and that can result in providing a child with a safe, permanent home."

The investigation into the Pennsylvania case began last month when police were called to reports of children entering an abandoned trailer in Green Top Trailer Park on April 23, Pennridge Regional Police Department revealed when they shared the outcome of their investigation on Thursday. Officers found a 12-year-old girl who said she was looking for a blanket to keep her rats warm, and her 14-year-old sister. Both children were dirty, unkempt, and were not properly dressed, according to police.

They were returned to their parents' trailer nearby, where officers discovered "deplorable" living conditions, the report stated. Crystal Robertson told police the refrigerator was kept padlocked as the children always wanted food because they were "garbage disposals with legs."

The police alerted officials from the Bucks County Children and Youth Department and when an investigator later visited the family, four more children were found in a rear bedroom.

Police say feces were found during an investigation into the home, which contained around 24 rats in cages, as well as dogs and snakes. The living conditions were deemed "unsanitary and essentially unsafe," police said, and the children were taken away into protective custody. The parents were charged last week.

When the children were taken to hospital for checks, doctors found that most were malnourished, with some suffering from a low kidney function. One little girl had maggots living in her hair. Other siblings needed "extensive" dental treatment and eyeglasses. None of the children had been educated and several did not even know their own birthdays. They were anxious at being out in public, police said.

The Robertsons are free after posting 10 percent of $100,000 bail and they are now awaiting trial. The couple were approached for comment about the allegations by local news channel ABC 7, but the pair did not come to the front door.

A neighbor, identified as Ruth, told the station: "It's horrible. I don't understand how parents could do that with their children." While Tammy Dehaven, the neighbor who had triggered the investigation by calling police when she saw the children entering an abandoned trailer, said: "They're in a better place [in the care of the county]. I hope they're taken care of. That's what they deserve. They deserve to be children."

Newsweek has reached out to Pennridge Regional Police Department by email for further information and comment.