Chuckey, Tenn. -- On Friday, Greene County Deputies made a stop at the Freshour Trailer Park to serve an outstanding warrant.
The suspect they were looking for had moved out months ago, but his trailer wasn't empty.
Deputies found three unsupervised children inside (ages four, four, and two). They had toys, a blanket, and crackers with them. At least one child was naked.
The kids ran next door -- from 85 to 89 Freshour Park. The deputies followed them and uncovered conditions "adverse to the children's welfare."
The mother of all three children, 27-year-old Crystal Whittenmore, was asleep in bed. Her boyfriend, 23-year-old Bennjerman Geiger, was beside her.
According to court records, deputies found a bag of white powder (believed to be a schedule II narcotic) and drug paraphernalia in plain sight. Whittenmore and Geiger had no idea where the children were, deputies said.
The adjacent room (the kids' bedroom) had feces smeared on the walls. It had been there for weeks.
Both Whittenmore and Geiger were arrested, booked, and placed on $34,000 bond each. Their charges include the following: child abuse, child endangerment, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of schedule II narcotics.
The arrest was Whittenmore's first and Geiger's seventh.
Both defendants were arraigned in Greene County Criminal Court Monday morning. The judge raised Geiger's bond to $42,000 and scheduled the couple's next appearance for June 10th.
The children were placed in a temporary foster home, as the Department of Childrens' Services works out long-term placement.
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