Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Collecting Items for Neglected Children Found in Pontiac
(Crystal Proxmire, Feb. 1, 2025)
Pontiac, MI – The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office is collecting clothing items for three children who were found neglected in a Pontiac home.
Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the conditions in which the children were forced to survive were unconscionable. “Throughout my extensive career in this field, I have never encountered a scenario as dire and prolonged as this one, involving abandonment, neglect, and abuse of the highest order,” Bouchard said. “This situation would be deemed deplorable and intolerable for an animal, and it is utterly unacceptable for three children. They have been deprived of any interaction with their mother and have not received an education for years. The far-reaching consequences of this abuse must be acknowledged. We look forward to presenting this case to the prosecutor and ensuring that this mother faces the consequences of her actions.”
The children, a 15-year-old boy and his two sisters, ages 12 and 13, have been placed in custody of a relative by Child Protective Services.
Deputies were called to a home in the 600 block of Lydia Lane on Friday afternoon to perform a welfare check on the occupants of the home. The landlord contacted deputies after he had not heard from the mother since December, rent was last paid in October, and he was concerned something may have happened.
Upon their arrival, deputies found a home in deplorable shape. Garbage was piled as high as four feet in some rooms, mold and human waste was found throughout, with the toilet overflowing and feces in the bathtub.
Deputies checked the residence for occupants and found the boy and his sisters. The girls had locked themselves in the bathroom but opened the door when asked. The boy said he and his sisters lived alone in the home as his mother had abandoned them in 2020 or 2021. They survived on the prepared food their mother or a stranger would leave on the front porch each week.
The mother did not leave toilet paper or personal hygiene items. The mother had contact with the boy, but it appeared she had not seen the girls in years.
The scene was processed by an evidence technician wearing a HAZMAT suit.
The children had not attended school since their abandonment, passing the time watching television or playing games. It appeared the girls had not been outside the home for several years. The boy slept on a mattress on the floor while the girls slept on pizza boxes.
Neighbors told deputies they were unaware the children lived in the home and never saw them outside.
They did see the mother drop things off at the home each month. The children were taken to the hospital for evaluation. They were wearing soiled clothing, their hair was matted, and their toenails were several inches long, making it difficult to walk. It appeared the children were unfamiliar with how to use personal hygiene items or knew how to flush a toilet.
The mother was found at another location and arrested without incident. She said the father of the children was not involved in their lives. The 34-year-old mother, who is not being identified as she shares the same name as one of her children, is being held in the Oakland County Jail.
Oakland County Sheriff’s Office is collecting donations for the three children recovered over the weekend. Here is what’s needed:
