Detention for parents

Couple treated pets better than their 7 children

(Bild: Krone KREATIV, Pennridge Regional Police Department, stock.adobe.com)

"They are two of the worst parents I have ever had in my life." The judge in the trial against Shane and Crystal Robertson did not stop at imposing a sentence. Charissa Liller accused the couple from Pennsylvania of letting their seven children vegetate like animals in a cage, "except that your pets were treated much better!" Which is why the raven parents will experience what it's like to be locked up for the next 16 years.

In April 2023, a police patrol had observed two filthy, barefoot, elementary school-aged children walking toward a mobile home park with two blankets. According to the Pennridge Police Department's police report, the two kids told the cops that "the blankets were for their parents' rats to keep them warm."

Parents concealed four children from police
The officers accompanied the children to their parents' dilapidated mobile home. During the questioning of mother Crystal (38), she lied to the police officers and claimed that she only had three children. The suspicious officers investigated and found out that the Robertsons actually had six daughters and a son aged between four and 16.

The home of the horror parents is shown here: 

Children were morbidly malnourished
A search of the house in the presence of the child protection agency revealed horror conditions inside the mobile home: "The inside was even more run-down than the outside. There was mold everywhere on the ceilings and walls and animal droppings on the floor. The children were malnourished, their hair was crawling with lice and even maggots and some of their teeth were black and rotten. They revealed that they had to scavenge for food in the neighborhood dumpsters. None of the children had received an education and they had to live together in a room that was like a filthy hovel.

The pets' cages were surprisingly clean
But what was almost worse for prosecutor Brittney Kern: "The parents kept dogs, turtles, snakes, a giant lizard (with its own TikTok account) and two dozen rats. They all had clean cages and were given good food, while the children went hungry." The parents also locked the children in their cage-like room every night - for fear that they might steal the food from their beloved pets.

To avoid the threat of a prison sentence of up to 35 years, the Robertsons pleaded guilty to their actions. Father Shane (48) apologized before the sentencing announcement and tearfully claimed: "We are so ashamed of our actions. A life without our children is the most terrible punishment for us." The judge did not believe him. She also ruled that the parents were not allowed to have any contact with their children as long as they were under 18."