From the Newsroom: Archives Edition

y'all remember this from the summer. it's sick, sad, and not surprising for Rock Hill.

7 kids living in filth

Rock Hill, S.C. Rock Hill police took seven children into emergency protective custody after finding them living in "deplorable conditions" and wearing "filthy clothing" in a house that "smelled of feces and urine."

Their parents - Sabrina Boone, 32, and Robert Tolf, 47 - are each charged with seven counts of unlawful conduct toward a child - the state law covering child neglect. Upon conviction, the felony charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and fines for each count.

The children - all between the ages of 1 and 10 - are in the custody of the state Department of Social Services, according to a police report.

A neighbor called police Thursday morning after spotting a crying young boy apparently locked out of the home in the 1500 block of Breckenwood Drive and wandering near the street.

When police arrived, they found the child wearing only a diaper and shirt, the report states. The child was hot and sweating - shaking so badly he couldn't pick up a toy on the porch of the home.

Officers knocked repeatedly on the front door, but no one answered.

An officer entered through an unlocked back door to find six other children, two girls and four boys, in a living room, the report states - some asleep on a couch and floor, others watching cartoons on TV.

When officers found the parents sleeping in a bedroom, the report states, they said they work from home and had been up until 6 a.m., which is why they didn't hear knocking.

"Clothes, trash and other household items were piled up to the point that some rooms and areas of the residence were inaccessible," the report reads.

Two bedrooms the parents said were the children's "were unlivable, and only one appeared to have a useable mattress," the report states, "but it, too, was completely covered and unusable."

The parents told police the children usually sleep on the floor or on the couch.

The home's main bathroom was infested with roaches, according to the report, and there was an old toilet resting in the bathtub. The house smelled of feces and urine, the report states.

In the kitchen, old dishes were stacked in the sink and covered with bugs. Several of the children had bug bites on them, the report states. They were wearing filthy clothing and appeared to lack hygiene.

The parents told police Department of Social Services officials have investigated the family before, the report states.

"We were involved with the family back in 2006," DSS spokeswoman Marilyn Matheus said, but she could not comment on the outcome of that case.

Tolf and Boone each posted $3,500 bond Friday in Rock Hill Municipal Court. Efforts to reach them were unsuccessful.

published 8/20/11 heraldonline.com by: Nicole Smith