Young children heard begging neighbors for help from broken window, Florida cops say

Young children heard begging neighbors for help from broken window, Florida cops say

PANAMA CITY — The sight of two children begging for help from a broken window led deputies to discover they were imprisoned “in a filthy, bug-infested bedroom with no heating or bathroom,” according to investigators in the Florida Panhandle.

Three adults have been charged, including both their parents and a grandfather, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

The discovery was made Sunday, Dec. 1, at a home in Panama City, about a 140-mile drive east from Pensacola.

“Two children, ages 4 and 5, were yelling out of a broken window, begging for help. They told neighbors they were locked in their room and needed to use the bathroom,” the sheriff’s office said.

“Upon arrival, deputies located the children hanging out of a window of the house. Deputies asked them if they were okay, and the little boy responded saying he needed to use the restroom, but the bedroom door was locked. … Deputies observed the children’s door was secured shut with a steel cable which was wrapped around the door handle and secured on the outside.”

Inside the room was a single piece of furniture — a bed “covered in dirt” — one pillow, three blankets and multiple piles of trash, the sheriff’s office said. Cockroaches were seen “crawling on the floor, ceiling, and walls,” deputies said.

The Department of Children and Families was summoned to the home and advised the children should be removed, the sheriff’s office said.

Interviews with the parents revealed the children had been locked in the room “every night since 2023” and were allowed out only when adults were awake, officials said.

“Deputies observed that the trash … appeared to have been in the room for an extended period of time. The parents said they have been trying to teach the kids to clean their room,” the sheriff’s office said.

“The paternal grandfather also resides in the home in the bedroom next to the children’s. During an interview, the grandfather stated he was aware of the living conditions of the children and that the children were locked in their bedroom.”

The parents, ages 27 and 31, were charged with two counts of child neglect, and the 73-year-old grandfather was charged with failure to report child neglect, the sheriff’s office said.

McClatchy News is not identifying the accused to protect the identity of their children.

By MARK PRICE/Miami Herald