Deputies in Volusia County, Florida rescued a 4-year-old boy found wading alone in a pond around 8 a.m. on Saturday after neighbors called the sheriff's office. When deputies went to the boy's home, they found the door slightly ajar and discovered "filthy conditions" including a roach infestation, copious amounts of dog urine and feces, and mold, according to an arrest affidavit.
The child's parents, Jeneixa Rodriguez-Crespo, 24, and Fermin Medrano-Perez, 25, are now facing child neglect and animal cruelty charges. Deputies also found a caged, neglected dog in the home.
Medrano-Perez told police he was watching the boy around 7:15 a.m. when he fell asleep on a recliner. He said the boy was playing on the floor and that his wife likely left the door unlocked when she left for work at 6 a.m. Rodriguez-Crespo, who was at work when the incident occurred, returned home afterward.
Both parents told police they bought the home about a year ago and noticed cockroach infestation. They said they called an exterminator but claimed they only clean up dog waste once a week. Medrano-Perez said he had "no other explanation for the homes condition other than a full-time work schedule and the inability to keep the bug infestation at bay with the financial resources available to his family currently."
Both parents were arrested. A grandparent picked up the boy. The parents have since posted bond, though their next court dates are not listed.