The house in Ohio: The police immediately took the children to several hospitals.Image: keystone
A run-down house shocks the USA. The public prosecutor is certain: coincidence saved the lives of several children.
July 2, 2026, 1:41 p.mJuly 2, 2026, 1:41 p.m
Konstantin Hitscher / t-online
US officials have discovered 16 neglected children in a small home in rural Ohio. As several US media reports, charges were brought against four people on Wednesday. They are accused of endangering children and causing “serious physical harm.” According to the reports, they have pleaded not guilty.
The children found in the house are said to be between one and a half and 18 years old. The official authorities left it open whether the children are related. The alleged perpetrators are parents and their children. According to US media, they are between 33 and 73 years old.
The responsible attorney general, Andy Wilson, said at a press conference on Tuesday: “What we saw today is absolute evil.” He adds that if they had arrived twenty-four hours later, some of the children could have been dead.
Prosecutor: Livestock lived in better conditions
Wilson said: “It may not even be safe for our deputies and investigators to enter certain areas of the house because, again, these are just dire conditions. Conditions in which you can’t even imagine people, let alone children, living there.”
A look into the house is shocking. Image: keystone
Even the farm animals on the property were kept under better conditions. As explained at the press conference, the children were kept in a room of around twelve square meters most of the time.
According to prosecutors, the children were divided into clinics across the state. Two of them were in such critical condition that they had to be flown directly to a hospital.
The family had lived in Ohio since 2008, according to a press release from the district attorney’s office. During this time, the family tried not to appear in any government documents.
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