GRAFTON, W.Va — Taylor County’s prosecuting attorney expects an indictment in a felony child neglect case.
Preliminary hearings were scheduled Friday for Grafton parents Kristen and David Parks.
They are accused of keeping their 7 children in an unsafe and unsanitary home.
The children, ranging in age from 9 months to 8 years old, were placed in state custody Wednesday.
“The Department of Human Services, they’ve taken the kids out. The kids are now safe and they’re clean,” said John Bord. “It’s a terrible case. It really is.”
Bord has practiced law for more than 3 decades.
“It was just a bad situation, very, very bad. There was head lice and fleas and blow flies. It was terrible. There were dogs in the house and cats in the house. You can imagine the mess there was,” Bord described.
When Grafton City Police conducted a welfare check at the West Main Street home, they described the children sharing a single filthy bed, diapers strewn on the floor and a strong stench inside the house.
“We advise people that when they see something like this, and this is exactly what happened in this case, report it to your local police authorities,” Bord pleaded. “They are mandatory reporters. So, not only do they conduct an initial investigation, they have to report to the Department of Human Services.”
Kristen Parks and her children had to be hospitalized to be disinfected.
The 28-year-old is the biological mother of all seven children.
Kristen Parks’ 37-year-old husband is the biological father of three of the children. According to the police report, he is a legal guardian for his four step children.
The couple has been charged with 7 felony counts of child neglect resulting in the risk of injury.
“Once the preliminary hearing is done, we will indict them in September,” said Bord.
Under West Virginia state code, each charge carries a potential 1 to 3 year prison sentence.