Texas Authorities Remove 11 Children From Home Strapped to Beds
Eleven children were removed from a crowded, filthy home in Texas, where eight children were sharing one small dark bedroom, and some were strapped down to beds.
Along with the children who are all believed to be related, 10 adults were also living in the small 1,700-square-foot home located in Dayton, Texas.
The children ranged in age from five months to 11-years-old, with three over the age of five. None of them had been enrolled in school, the Department of Family and Protective Services spokeswoman Gwen Carter told the LA Times.
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According to court documents among the children was a legally blind, 5-year-old girl who "was in a restraint on a filthy mattress, and appeared to be in a daze," and a child with a black eye and knocked out tooth. Two other children had to be admitted to hospital with pneumonia symptoms.
The adults in the house told investigators they tied the children up when they slept or napped during the day "for safety" reasons, and couldn't see anything wrong with what they were doing.
Neighbor Wayne Hardin said, while he often saw at least eight cars parked outside, he had no idea so many people were living in the house in rural Texas. "I was shocked," he said. "We didn't have a clue."
Hardin also said that he had never even seen the younger children.
One of the residents of the home also included registered sex offender Mark E. Marsh III, who according to the sex offender registry, was convicted in Michigan 15 years ago of criminal sexual conduct with a 15-year-old girl.
Carter said that there is a court hearing scheduled for March 9 to determine what will happen to the children, who are now all in foster homes.
"The plan is to talk about if there are appropriate relatives who can take them in and out of state," Carter said.
Dayton Police Sgt. Doug O'Quinn told the LA Times police are looking into pressing criminal charges.
