A Georgia couple is incarcerated for allegedly forcing their 3-year-old kid to spend over a month in a filthy shed without electricity or running water.
Sarah Elizabeth Pombert, 34, and Joseph Matthew Turner, 35, are charged with second-degree child abuse.
Turner and Pombert forced the youngster to spend around three weeks living in a shed behind their house in the 7000 block of Judge Avenue in Douglasville, which is about 20 miles west of Atlanta, according to an arrest warrant issued by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
By putting the boy in a “dirty living space in a shed without running water or electricity, and leaving the child unsupervised, unbathed, and unclothed with criminal negligence,” Turner and Pombert caused him “cruel/excessive, mental/physical pain.” The purported neglect took place from May 1 until May 22.
According to court documents, police arrested the couple on June 2 after filing the charges on May 29.
According to neighbor Matthew Govoni, the investigation began when the shed burned down during Memorial Day Weekend. The structure was destroyed by “a huge fire with explosions,” according to Govoni.
The warrant contained no information about the fire or how detectives found out about the boy’s alleged maltreatment despite the fact that he was unharmed.
According to Govoni, the couple was not the nicest of neighbors during their roughly ten years in the house. The accusations did not surprise him.
Read Also: Man Charged in Florida for Repeatedly Stabbing Shark in Revenge Attack
“With the lifestyle they live, I’m not surprised by any of that, really,” he stated.
The neighbor expressed sympathy for the youngster.
“I’m saddened for them and the child, but I mean, for the child, I hope they can get to a place where they can be helped,” he stated.
Turner and Pombert were still in the Douglas County Jail as of Sunday. It’s unknown if they have legal representation.
