Three adults in Georgia are facing child cruelty charges after authorities say they crammed 15 children, ranging from 1 to 17 years old, into a two-bedroom apartment described as “deplorable,” with only nine beds, little food and no toilet paper on hand.
Ashley Jackson, 40, Derrick Jackson, 41, and Briana Reynolds, 36, were taken into custody Thursday after police found the children living in those conditions at the Laurel Hills Preserve complex off Bells Ferry Road in Marietta, according to local NBC affiliate WXIA.
All three face first- and second-degree cruelty to children charges, along with marijuana possession counts. Investigators say the apartment housed 18 people total, the three adults and their 15 children, and that each of the adults identified themselves as biological parents to the kids.
According to arrest warrants reviewed by WXIA, the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services had called for police assistance during a visit to the home. Caseworkers were reportedly there to check on the family’s welfare after receiving a report about two young people living at the address.
Officers say the apartment was missing basic essentials, food included. A blanket covered in mold was found hanging in one of the bedrooms, and investigators say there was no evidence that toilet paper had been in the home recently.
When officers executed a search warrant, they found the children there without any adults present. Police say Ashley Jackson, Derrick Jackson and Reynolds didn’t show up until roughly three hours later, at which point they were arrested.
Derrick Jackson is facing an extra charge tied to his booking at the county jail, where marijuana was allegedly discovered inside his body once he arrived, WXIA reports.
All three parents are currently being held without bond.
