Three people have been detained after a toddler was found in a cage surrounded by more than 600 animals, a hundred cannabis plants and more than a dozen guns. These types of cases are now surfacing more and more in the US recently.
Henry County Sheriff Monte Belew identified 46-year-old T.J. Brown, 42-year-old Heather Scarbrough and 82-year-old Charles Brown as the suspects who were all arrested by deputies.
All three suspects have been charged with aggravated child abuse, aggravated animal cruelty, possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, manufacturing of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and cruelty to animals. Brown was also charged with possession of a firearm.
On Thursday, deputies with the department raided the mobile-home that had several outbuildings.
The 18-month-old boy was found in a 4’x4′ cage in a living room. Also, the boy had only a few toys and did not even have a blanket.
What else was found?
Next to the cage were three buckets of mice, and just three feet away was a 10ft boa constrictor. Eight snakes were found inside the room, in total.
The animals found at the home included: 86 chickens and roosters, 56 dogs, 10 rabbits, 4 parakeets, 3 cats, 8 snakes, one pheasant, 531 rodents, one gecko and three sugar gliders.
Also recovered from the home were 127 marijuana plants and 17 guns. Maggots and cockroaches were all over the house.
Animal Rescue Corps assisted with animal removal, with some being found dead.
Community Reacts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG0vCcdAjAw
‘In our community children are treasured. They’re treasured very highly and the slightest allegation that one may be in danger causes a large number of people to spring into action. We’re going to investigate this and every allegation of child abuse extremely closely,’ said District Attorney Matt Stowe.
‘These things oftentimes can be hidden, especially when it’s in a remote or rural area. But even in an urban area, the truth is we never really know what our neighbors next door are doing. It’s important that this serves as a warning that if you see something out of place that you let someone know.’
