From The Washington County Sheriff's Office:
According to Sheriff Ed Graybeal, Investigators arrested Leona Patricia Bentler, age 41, 147 Miller Drive; Telford charging her with 6 counts of Child Abuse and Neglect after additional information was obtained from follow up interviews with witnesses, victims and suspects involved in the case.
Investigators also summoned Roberta Sauls, age 57, same address on charges of criminally responsibility for the conduct of another in reference to 5 counts of Aggravated Child Abuse, child Neglect or Endangerment.
Bentler was a friend to both Robert H Simons III and Mary E Tittle. Sauls is the grandmother of the 5 children. Both co-defendants lived at the same address as Simons and Tittle at the time of the abuse.
Investigators have worked long hours side by side with the Children’s Advocacy Center, the Department of Children Services, and the Washington County District Attorney’s Office to answer any unanswered questions and to attempt to keep the welfare of the children at the forefront of the investigation.
The children are doing well, and have received lots of needed attention and belongings thanks to an overwhelming outpouring of gifts, money and support from the community.
The Sheriff wants to thank the citizens of Washington County and all the surrounding counties for their support in this truly disturbing case.
The investigation began when investigators arrested Robert H Simons III; age 53; 147 Miller Road, Jonesborough and Mary E Tittle; age 37; same address after responding to the residence accompanied by the Department of Children Services and finding the children were subjected to the deplorable living conditions. The children ages ranging from 7-13 years of age had not been bathed in over two weeks.
The children had never attended any type of school. The children could not read or write. The children did not even know their ages.
A female child had an infection which was caused by a rat bite that was never treated. That same child is in stage 3-4 renal failure and the medication and treatment for that condition was not being provided to her.
Due to the rat bite some of the children were living on a bus in the front yard. The bus had no running water, no bathroom and sparse living arrangements. The children’s beds were extremely small. The yard of the address was strewn with broken items and trash. The occupants of the residence were using the yard for a bathroom. One of the children had only one shoe.
The conditions at the address were the worst that been seen in several years.
The family had been moved to Tennessee when DCS in Pennsylvania had started an investigation into their lack of education.
The five children were removed from the home fed, clothed, taken for medical exams and then were all placed in foster care, together, until permanent arrangements can be made.
Simons and Tittle were each charged with 5 counts of Child Abuse, Child Neglect of Endangerment. Their bonds were each set at $50,000. During subsequent hearings both their charges were upgraded to Aggravated Child Abuse, Child Neglect or Endangerment.
Anyone with information on child abuse, child endangerment or neglect is required by law to report it to local Law Enforcement or the Department of Children Services at 1-877-237-0004.
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