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CYS Finds 3 Children Living In House Of Filth, Parents Charged

CANTON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) – The parents of three children were charged after police say the children were found wearing soiled diapers in a house filled with mold and feces in Washington County.

There was no comment from the home where three children, aged 5, 2, and 1, were alleged to have lived in filth.

"Please get off my property," said the man who answered the door.

It's the house that 28-year-old Chanta Ashcroft and 30-year-old Michael Fowler share on McKee Road in Canton Township.

They now face charges of reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of children.

"When [police] arrived on scene, they discovered that the children were basically living in a garbage filled house," said Trooper Matt Jardine, of Pennsylvania State Police.

According to the criminal complaint, everything from the smell of urine, to urine and feces on the floor, to garbage, to soiled diapers, to mold and spoiled food in the refrigerator were found inside the home.

"The kids were dirty, they weren't getting proper medical attention," said Trooper Jardine. "To the trooper that was first on scene, it appeared as though the kids actually had flea bites on them."

State police were involved because Washington County's Children and Youth Services requested their assistance during a visit to check on the welfare of the children.

"It's my understanding the kids are still in the protective custody of Children and Youth Services," Trooper Jardine said. "Eventually, they will place them in some sort of foster or temporary care."

A preliminary hearing is set for next month.

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