A couple has been charged after five children aged between five and 14 were found locked in a ‘dungeon’ with faeces on the walls, boarded up windows and no beds to sleep in
A couple have been charged after police found five children trapped in ‘deplorable living conditions’ infested with fleas, a shortage of food and a video camera linked to the father’s room.
James Russell Kahl, 65, and Carly Kahl, 41, have been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, according to People.com.
Police were initially called to the home last month following a report that children were living there in ‘deplorable conditions,’ according to court documents.
“It is sickening. That is the only word to describe it. It’s sickening,” police said. “This room functioned as a dungeon with a video camera hardwired to the father’s room,” they said. “I can’t imagine living in a household like what we saw.”
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The couple were arrested after police obtained a warrant to carry out a search and say they found a stun gun, a replica pistol, a surveillance camera, drugs and drug paraphernalia.
Russell had reportedly forced his wife Carly to pull a Taser on one of the children within the last two weeks, according to a criminal complaint obtained by WPXI.
‘There’s no reason to be using a device like a stun gun, which is less lethal, not lethal, against a child,’ Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele said.
The five children were confined to a squalid bedroom with boarded-up windows where they were provided with a limited amount of food and clothing and no beds to sleep on.
In addition to the three deadbolt locks on the outside of the door, police said there was no door handle so they were trapped inside unable to escape.
‘Well it appears that these children were basically held in captivity in this room,’ Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele told reporters.
There was also faeces covering the walls and insects crawling over the floor coverings. Authorities claim that James neglected his children – who were between the ages of five and 14 – as he smoked marijuana all day.
The district attorney went on to thank the ‘brave family member’ who reported the ‘deplorable conditions’ to the state’s ChildLine system.
‘Law enforcement cannot be in every household and every single minute of every day; we need people to come forward and think of these children,’ he said.
Bail has been denied for both of the parents, who are being held at the county jail, according to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail.
Those documents also show that James Russell has had a series of run-ins with the law in the past, including a harassment charge he pleaded guilty to in 2006.
The children were safely removed from the household and placed into the care of Child and Youth Services (CYS), KDKA reported.
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