Pregnant mom of 12 pleads not guilty to child neglect

8 is enough, but 13 is definitely too many for anyone!

8 is enough, but 13 is definitely too many for anyone!

http://www.komonews.com/news/national/Pregnant-mom-of-12-pleads-not-guilty-to-child-neglect-306992381.html

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – A pregnant mother of 12 pleaded not guilty to a child neglect charge Thursday after authorities found her children in a trash-strewn Tulsa home with collapsing ceilings and no running water.

Special Judge Deborrah Ludi-Leitch entered the plea on behalf of the 38-year-old woman, who appeared by video from jail. The judge also appointed a public defender to represent the woman and set a June 30 court date.

A 41-year-old man who was living with the woman and also charged with child neglect is due in court for his initial hearing on Monday. No attorney information for either could be found in jail records.

The Associated Press is not naming the adults in order to protect the identities of the children.

The woman has had at least 33 Oklahoma Department of Human Services referrals and investigations, according to a police search warrant affidavit. Some of the children have been in and out of state custody throughout their lives, according to the affidavit.

A DHS employee who visited the house last week photographed the home and contacted police.

When officers arrived at the house, the woman told authorities she was three months pregnant with her 13th child, a police detective said.

Tulsa Police Det. Aubrie Thompson said Tuesday that four of the children have been taken into DHS custody and police were trying to locate the other eight. A message left with Thompson was not returned Thursday.

In addition to trash littered feet deep in some areas of the house, the yard was filled with trash and mattresses that the woman said she put outside more than three months ago because they were infested with bed bugs. Police also found a box of drugs, including methamphetamine, in the backyard in a hole covered with leaves, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit says the woman told police that if her children lived at the house all the time, they “would be really sick.”

3 thoughts on “Pregnant mom of 12 pleads not guilty to child neglect

  1. And of course no one could dare suggest that some people should never have children! Can’t be politically incorrect about anything as precious as humanity’s sacred right to reproduce. Maybe some stalwart soul will be bold enough to suggest birth control as the authorities try to find placement for the kids.

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