A North Texas judge says four young siblings will remain in foster care after two were discovered locked in a dog cage and the others were found smeared with excrement in a barn.
The judge ruled Feb. 27 that no suitable relatives could be found to care for the children, who range in age from 1 to 5 years old.
Investigators say the children were hungry and thirsty when found Feb. 12 on a property near Rhome, about 20 miles north of Fort Worth.
Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin says it was the worst case of child abuse he’d seen in his 44-year career.
The children’s mother, 24-year-old Paige Harkings, is jailed on child endangerment charges. Jail records don’t indicate whether she has an attorney.
A man arrested in the case has been released on bond.
Early last month, deputies investigated a suspected child abuse case after discovering four young children living in deplorable conditions, two of which were locked in a dog kennel, during a family disturbance call.
Authorities from the Wise County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home on County Road 4930 between Newark and Rhome around 7:20 a.m. on Feb. 12, on a report of domestic violence.
When they arrived they discovered a man with cuts to his face. While speaking with the man and a woman, deputies heard children inside the property, according to Sheriff Lane Akin, reported WFAA.
Upon investigation, they located the children who were aged 5, 4, 3, and 1. The two oldest children were found locked together in a dog kennel that was about 3-by-3 feet.
The other children were found inside the residence and appeared malnourished and covered in urine and feces, Akin said, reported the Wise County Messenger.
“There was food in the house, but it was locked up where the kids couldn’t get it,” Akin said.
Two children were found locked in a dog kennel near Rhome, the Wise County Sheriff's Office said according to the Wise County Messenger.
Posted by NBC DFW on Tuesday, 12 February 2019
“I’ve not worked one where children are locked inside a dog kennel, and I find that absolutely disgusting,” he said.
Wise Co. Sheriff says they found 4 children, ages 5 and younger, malnourished and locked in dog kennels in this barn in Rhome. They were called to scene because of a domestic violence incident between a man and woman. Shefiff, EMS, DPS are all on scene. pic.twitter.com/sgeItuHG2p
— Chris Sadeghi (@chrissadeghi) February 12, 2019
Wise County EMS transported the children to Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth for medical evaluations. A hospital spokeswoman declined to disclose their conditions. The man was also taken to a hospital for the cuts on his face.
Both the man and the woman have been charged with four counts of endangering a child. Meanwhile, the woman was also charged with a family violence charge and taken into custody, according to the news website.
Wise Co. Sheriff Lane Akin says man and woman will be charged with 4 counts of child endangerment. They are the parents of the children and have had previous contact by CPS.
Two kids (4 and 5 year old) were found in the same padlocked 3x3x3 kennel.
Home was “cluttered, filthy.”
— Chris Sadeghi (@chrissadeghi) February 12, 2019
According to CBSDFW, the two adults have been identified as Andrew Fibila and Paige Harkings.
A neighbor told WFAA that she had never seen anyone coming or going from the barn and that the property looked abandoned until a couple of months ago when the tall grass around the barn was mowed.
NEW: here are mugshots of mom Paige Harkings, charged with child endangerment and aggravated assault in the Wise Co case. #WFAA pic.twitter.com/49Px3D5II2
— Lauren Zakalik (@wfaalauren) February 12, 2019
Deputies were speaking with a man and a woman, both 24, when they heard children’s voices coming from the barn, Akin said. The woman is the mother of all four children and the man is father to one of them, he told the newspaper.
A fight between the two is what brought deputies to the rural home, and the man had cuts to his face. They were arrested and each charged with four counts of child endangerment.
Marissa Gonzales, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, said the agency has had contact with the family before, but at a different location. She said the children were being evaluated at the hospital and for the time being were not in state custody.
Epoch Times reporter Janita Kan contributed to this report.
