A York Pennsylvania couple was arrested for a combined 40 counts of child abuse, neglect, child pornography and internet crimes involving children. The children range from 9-19 years of age. The youngest has never gone to school. All of them had been starved, beaten and subjected to coercion by means of alcohol, sleeping pills and firearms. Both parents are being held on $250k bond each.
We live in horror when the day our willingness to ignore the obvious will come back to haunt us. In this York Pennsylvania neighborhood residents are shocked by what they did not see or turned a blind eye to. This is the story of how one brave soul listened to the cry of a child on the other end of a 911 call.
This case is the extreme. Not all child abuse cases are as severe. The dirty house, a 2 year old not strapped in a car seat or parents whose religious beliefs support spanking their children are all situations that may result in a criminal charge.
It may be a neighbor or a grandparent or a stranger that reports their concern. Those calls will be checked out and those charges look pretty serious in black and white. The consequences may be minor while the house is cleaned up, parenting classes are attended and the children are allowed back home. While it may not seem like it at the time, it is a win, win situation for everyone.
A knowledgeable defense attorney can obtain a favorable resolution for the family and eventually seal the case from public eye if there is a deferred judgment. Obviously these folks in Pennsylvania won’t be with their children for awhile, if ever. This will be a traumatic and confusing time for all of the kids. Their physical and mental scars will last a lifetime.
As a child abuse defense attorney my goal is to do everything I can to help parents gain a quick resolution to their criminal charges. It may require taking parenting classes and classes that will hopefully bring their families together in the healthiest way possible.
If you have been charged I hope you will call me Philip M. Smith, Child Abuse Attorney 303-333-8900 for a free consultation about your child neglect charges.
