[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Two Philadelphia parents have been arrested after recklessly endangering their children.
Last Thursday, police arrived at 30-year-old Michelle Campbell and 31-year-old Paul Weber’s Northeast Philly home around 1:00 p.m. after a neighbor called, claiming to see two young girls, ages 4 and 5, standing outside in the rain partially clothed. Hector Perez, the concerned neighbor, told NBC’s WCAU-TV a day later:
“They have pampers on. They have no shirts. They have no pants. They have no shoes. They’re screaming. It’s raining. It’s cold. They’re screaming for their mother, their father.”
Tacony police told People in a statement Saturday that upon arriving at the Glenview Street residence, they sure enough discovered the reported two young girls “crying in the rear of the house.” Authorities quickly secured them before entering the home, where they discovered even more horrors…
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According to KYW-TV, a 6-year-old boy was located inside the home, locked inside a dog cage — which was closed shut with a zip tie — naked, with only a pillow and a blanket. Absolutely horrifying.
All three children were quickly removed from the residence and transported to St. Christopher’s Hospital for evaluation, where they were placed under the care of the state’s Department of Human Services. Philadelphia Police Public Information Officer Eric Gripp told WCAU-TV Friday:
“We don’t know entirely everything that’s going on here. We have a long investigation ahead of us. But obviously, we don’t live in a world where under any situation whatsoever we should have a child inside of a cage or young children outside standing in the rain.”
The outlet also reported that in addition to the 6-year-old boy found inside the home, an elderly woman and a 40-year-old man, who were identified as the childrens’ grandmother and uncle, were found, in addition to two other children who were at school at the time. Police say Michelle would often leave the 6-year-old in the cage when she would leave the home.
Perez added in his statement:
“This has been an ongoing situation. These kids have mental issues. Everybody in the neighborhood knows about it. Cops have been coming here on and off. Nothing has ever been done.”
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Tom McNamee, a fellow neighbor, told KYW-TV the family had lived at the residence for about 15 years, and recalled seeing the children wandering the property unsupervised on numerous occasions:
“It’s horrifying… they’re kids. I have grandkids and my own kids — when you find out the details, I don’t know how a parent can let somebody do this.”
The Department of Human Services told ABC’s WPVI-TV Friday:
“Due to State confidentiality laws, DHS cannot comment whether or not a family has any current or past DHS involvement.”
Paul and Michelle were detained and charged with endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering a person, and are currently being held for a $22,500 cash bail each. They are set to appear in court next month. See more (below):
We hope justice is served in this disturbing case, and the children are able to recover from their abuse.
What are your thoughts, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments down below.
[Images via 6abc Philadelphia/YouTube & Philadelphia Police Department]
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