A Pennsylvania couple was hit with a slew of charges after seven children were rescued from their nightmarish house of horrors in what has to be one of the worst cases of abuse ever documented. Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it does, and it will make you shudder to think that kids could be living in such conditions unbeknownst to the outside world.
Crystal and Shane Robertson were hit with multiple charges of child endangerment after police discovered seven malnourished children living in squalor, the NY Post reported. Sadly, “squalor” is putting it mildly. Instead, these kids were living a nightmare in a house of horrors, and frighteningly, no one was none the wiser until the children caught the attention of a concerned neighbor, who spotted two of them entering an abandoned trailer and stealing.
After receiving the call, stating that two children had entered an abandoned trailer and were stealing, officers with the Pennridge Regional Police Department determined that the children resided in a home nearby and responded to the Sellersville trailer park home of Crystal and Shane Robertson. Authorities arrived at the home at approximately 1:30 on a Sunday afternoon, and officers were greeted by a barefoot 12-year-old girl in the front yard.
After admitting that she had entered the abandoned trailer, the young girl explained that she only went inside to search for a blanket to keep her “rats warm” since her family had no money. She also explained that her parents had told their children not to “go over to the abandoned trailer” and that they “should not be held responsible,” according to the affidavit of probable cause. During their initial investigation, another girl then appeared, and things only continued to get worse.
The second child was a 14-year-old girl, wearing “large work boots too big for her feet” and “had on clothing that appeared dirty.” She also admitted to entering the abandoned trailer as well and revealed to the officers that her parents were not home. Seeing the state of the two children and the home, officers called upon the Robertsons to return. Upon their arrival 30 minutes later, police expressed their concerns for the two girls’ health and were permitted to look around the residence.
Once again, things only got worse as police described in great detail how they found the home in a filthy and disturbing state with dozens of rats and “feces on the floor.” Upon entry, officers also discovered another 16-year-old female inside who, like the other girls, “appeared unkempt.” The trailer home was also in “obvious disrepair and disarray.” Shockingly, the father allegedly told the police that the teen was the last of his children, only for authorities to later discover he had four other children he had failed to tell responding officers about.
It wasn’t until after officers left the residence to file a “Childline report” that they’d learn that Crystal and Shane Robertson actually had seven children rather than the three officers had seen. This news came when police were called back to the trailer at around 5 pm after a member of the Bucks County Children and Youth discovered three more girls — ages 4, 8, and 10 — and a 6-year-old boy hiding in a back room. Shane Robertson then explained that he didn’t tell officers about his other four children earlier “because he didn’t want to get in any trouble.”
Unfortunately for him, trouble was imminent due to the condition of the house. “The room that Shane and Crystal slept in had a bed in the middle of the room with several animal cages surrounding it. The sheets on the bed did not appear to have been washed in several weeks/months. On the floor were items of garbage and the walls had holes in them,” documents stated. “The third bedroom had feces on the floor in front of the entrance. A filthy mattress lay at the center of the room with a dirty blanket on it. This room also housed approximately two dozen rats that were located in two different cages.”
Revealing more of the horrific conditions in which the children were forced to stew, authorities said the home was in such a horrific state that the mother told police she had fallen through the floor months earlier. Additionally, two dogs, two turtles, two rabbits, snakes, toads, and a 4-foot reptile “known as a Tegu” were also discovered in the house of horrors. “The only notable food located in the home was for the animals,” investigators said. No cleaning or hygienic products, such as soap or toothpaste, could be found.
Officers also observed that the family’s refrigerator was locked with Crystal Robertson telling them that the children “were ‘stealing’ everything.” According to the affidavit, she also “referred to the children as ‘garbage disposals with legs.'” After discovering the complete squalor in which the children were living, coupled with the condition of all seven children, the kids were taken to a hospital for evaluation, and again, things only went from bad to worse.
Unsurprisingly, considering the conditions of the home, the children were all determined to be extremely unhealthy. In fact, six of the seven were determined to be “clinically malnourished,” two tested positive for a virus, another pair had low kidney function, and the remaining three were running fevers and found to have undiagnosed “Acute Viral Syndrome.” At least one child was also discovered to have “maggots” in her matted hair after severe sunburn to her scalp the prior summer left her unable to brush her hair due to pain, and many had “significant” dental health issues.
The physical health of the children wasn’t the only problem investigators uncovered. “None of the seven children had any formal education, and all lacked basic knowledge. Some of the children did not know their own birthdates. Four of the children suffer from speech impediments,” investigators reported. “All of the children struggle with reading, writing, and spelling. They all exhibited social anxiety and disclosed that they did not like being in public or around other people.”
After being rescued from the nightmarish house of horrors, the children were placed in foster care. Crystal and Shane Robertson were booked into the Bucks County Jail on a measly $10,000 bond. Each was charged with one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child for the alleged abuse of the 4-year-old and six counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of the rest of the children, but no punishment could ever be enough for the damage they have caused. If you ever wondered if monsters were real, this is your answer.
