LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. —
A Lancaster County couple is facing charges after police say four children in their care were found to be living in filthy, dangerous conditions.
Sarah Clinger, 32, and Ulyssis Torres, 28, are each charged with four felony counts of endangering the welfare of children by Manheim Borough Police, according to criminal complaint affidavits filed against them.
Investigators filed the charges after responding to the couple's apartment on the 1800 block of Habeker Road in Rapho Township last Friday, the complaints state. Police were dispatched there in response to a reported child-family offense, according to the complaints.
Clinger allegedly allowed the officer inside the home, where the officer saw Torres and another man attempting to clean the residence. The officer noted stains on the floor that appeared to be feces, along with garbage-filled trash bags strewn around the home. The floors of the apartment had a "wet, film-like consistency" that made them slippery, the officer noted in her report.
As she walked through the home, the officer noted the presence of many insects and flies, and observed that an interior fire alarm that had been removed from the ceiling was filled with cockroach feces.
In one of the children's bedrooms, the officer observed a ripped mattress with no covering or blanket that the child slept on. The 5-year-old child's clothing was strewn across the floor.
The officer noted that a 1-year-old child was being kept inside a playpen that was placed on the floor with no secured bottom, the complaint states. The couple allegedly admitted the child spent long periods of time there, and was covered in an unknown dirty substance, the officer noted.
In the couple's bedroom, the officer found a newborn crib that was covered in clothing and other items, in spite of the fact that the child slept in it. There was rotten food, beverages, trash, and cigarette butts scattered around the room, the officer said.
The bathroom had a child's potty inside that was covered with feces, the officer claims.
According to the complaint, the officer took a closer look at the children and noted they were dirty and unbathed, with feet that looked black.
Police said one of the children frequently gets out of the home without supervision and was nearly hit by a vehicle the previous week, according to neighbors who claimed to have often taken the child home after finding the child in the parking area.
One neighbor reported that when they took the child home the previous week, no adults were present, police said.
The couple is being held in Lancaster County Prison after failing to post bail.
