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A man and a woman in North Carolina were arrested on child abuse charges after six children were rescued from a “filthy” home, including one child who was kept in a dog kennel.
Lacy Douglas Hocutt Jr., 34, and Rachelleigh Marie Galasso, 33, were taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with abuse, neglect and other serious crimes, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office said, according to WRAL.
The two suspects made their first court appearances on Thursday, when prosecutors said the alleged abuse was among the worst they had ever seen.
Prosecutors said six children, ranging in age from one to 15, were removed from the home in February, with each of them having serious health issues, WRAL reported.
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Multiple children will need to have teeth removed and are unable to eat without pain, prosecutors said.
One child, 13, was kept in a dog kennel, court documents show, according to WRAL.
The boy was considered to be “so grossly underweight that it was life-threatening,” according to the documents.
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“He now rocks back and forth, and all he yells is, ‘You’re never getting out. You’re never getting out,’ which we can only assume is what was screamed at him while he was in there,” the assistant district attorney told a judge in court on Thursday, WRAL reported.
Another child’s scoliosis was left untreated to the point that she “will have to suffer from the condition for the remainder of her life,” according to documents.
Prosecutors also explained the extent of how filthy the home was.
“When CPS and Wake County got involved and the sheriff’s office went out there, it was so filthy that investigators had to wear protective gear,” the assistant district attorney said.
The children also did not attend school, so none of them could read or write.
Hocutt and Galasso are being held without bond and are both due back in court on April 23.
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