From staff reports
A Franklin couple are facing charges after eight young children in their care were found unsupervised and living in a house that was in “deplorable” condition.
Franklin police said in a criminal compliant they were called July 31 by Children and Youth Services workers to a residence on Grant Street to check on the welfare of two adults “with known drug addiction problems,” Bambidawn Jones, 33, and Dequan Epps, 29.
The two weren’t answering their door even though the CYS workers had been banging on the door and calling the pair’s cell phones for half an hour, the complaint said.
Once police arrived and knocked on the door, Epps answered the door and Jones was heard speaking and moving around in the house, the complaint said.
With the permission of Jones and Epps, police accompanied CYS on their walk through the house, according to the complaint.
The house was infested with bugs and full of trash, even though CYS had provided the family a dumpster to dispose of the garbage, the complaint said, noting that the dumpster had been at the house for a week.
Rotting food, cleaning chemicals, prescription pills and naloxone were on the floor in reach of the children, the complaint said.
The complaint notes that the state of the house was not only a health hazard but also “made it almost impossible for anyone to escape the residence in the event of a house fire.”
Jones and Epps were both charged with eight felony counts of endangering the welfare of children.
They were arraigned Friday, and their preliminary hearings are scheduled Wednesday in Venango County Central Court.
