Five
children have been found living in a filthy home brimming with trash,
dog feces and urine-soaked beds, police in Florida have said.
One
of the children begged to be given a new family and opened his mouth to
reveal a set of rotten teeth when investigators went inside the home in
Orlando, according to a police report.
Their
mother, Yolander Lasane, 45, has been charged with child neglect after
her children, aged 5, 9, 12, 15 and 17, are believed to have been living
in the sickening conditions for several years.
Photographs
show clothing and trash strewn about the house, black mold and rotting
wood in the kitchen and an insect-filled bathroom with a broken toilet,
sink and bathtub.
Animal feces was also found over floors and walls, according to the police report.
Police
were called to the home by a Department of Children and Family worker,
who told officers that she was concerned Lasane's 17-year-old child had
not been home in three weeks.
The
teenager had never been reported missing and Lasane told authorities
that she was troublesome and had been 'sleeping around', and did not
think she had to report her missing.
Disgusting: Images taken inside the home show mold- and food-covered services in the kitchen
Mold: Trash was also found in the sink where 5 children under the age of 17 were found living on Tuesday
Unhealthy: Police said they found very little food in the house, which had not been cleaned for years
The
girl told police that her mother had thrown her out and told her never
to return, so she had been staying with a friend. When she returned to
pick up clothes, she said she found them thrown away.
When
they checked on the house, investigators had to use a shovel to remove
the trash so they could get inside and were immediately hit by an
overwhelming smell, according to the police report.
Officers
noted that the children did not look as if they had bathed recently and
ate cold food out of cans using an electric can opener - the only
working device in the kitchen.
The
children's beds were crawling with bugs, according to the report, and
while Lasane's bedroom was also littered with trash and feces, it was in
far better condition than her children's.
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'Neglect':
Lasane said that her weight made it difficult for her to walk so she
left her children to 'come and go as they please'. Neighbors reported
seeing the children in the street looking for jobs for money
Filthy: The toilet, sink and bathtub were not working in the family's main bathroom, pictured
Stink: The children's bedrooms had urine-soaked beds and were strewn with animal feces
Mess: Authorities needed to use shovels to get inside the Orlando-area home on Tuesday
She had a working air conditioner and TV in her room.
The
mother said she has trouble walking due to her weight and stays in bed
most of the time, meaning she leaves the children to 'come and go as
they please'.
But the Orlando Sentinel noted that she walked to the patrol car after her arrest.
Officers also found that the doorknob on the front door of the house was hanging off and the home could not be locked.
'The
severe medical and overall neglect was horrendous,' the report
said. 'It was evident that no part of this residence had been properly
cleaned or maintained in years.'
Animal control also removed pets that had been neglected, the report said.
Infested: Authorities also found bugs over the bedrooms and black mold over the doorways
Trash: The home, where the children had lived in poor conditions for years, has been condemned
The house has now been condemned.
Neighbors
said they would sometimes see one of her children wandering around the
streets looking to work for money, according to WESH.
The
Department of Children and Families has been working with the family
for about a month, but said that they couldn't remove the children from
the home without giving the mother a chance.
'The
last thing we want to do is have to remove children from their home. We
want to maintain them in the home when we can safely do that,' DCF's
Kristi Gray told WFTV.
Lasane
is being held at the Orange County Jail on five counts of child neglect
causing great bodily harm. She has a sixth child who is grown and did
not live at the house.
A relative has temporarily taken in some of the children, and the state is arranging other permanent care for them.
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