Two children were removed from a Gwinnett County home Thursday after authorities found them living in “deplorable conditions,” police said.
Officers were called to the home on Ontario Court near Buford to assist animal control after they discovered more than two dozen animals on the property, Gwinnett police spokeswoman Hideshi Valle said.
Police found 29 animals inside the home, including snakes, lizards, guinea pigs, a tortoise, frogs and several breeds of dogs and cats, Valle said. A dead rat was also discovered in the dining room.
Two girls, ages 3 and 11, were inside the house, which authorities said was filled with urine and feces and “wasn’t suitable for anyone.”
When police arrived, the 3-year-old was wearing a white diaper that was nearly brown because she hadn’t been changed, authorities told Channel 2 Action News. The children’s beds had no sheets and were filled with insects, according to police.
The discovery led to a host of charges for three adults living there, including the children’s parents and a live-in nanny, authorities said.
Police arrested Craig White, 36, Erin Caylor, 30, and Kelley Stensland, 30.
White faces two counts of second-degree child cruelty and 19 counts of animal cruelty, jail records show. Stensland was charged with six counts of second-degree child cruelty and nearly 60 counts of animal cruelty, and Caylor faces two counts of second-degree child cruelty.
“It was deplorable,” Valle said, adding that the nanny told officers the children would often step in the “copious amounts of feces and urine” found inside the house. The children were removed from the home and placed in the custody of the Division of Family and Children Services.
All three adults were being held at the Gwinnett County Jail on Friday afternoon.
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