An Oklahoma couple was apprehended earlier this month following the discovery of their two young sons living in squalid conditions, according to local law enforcement. The children, all under five years old, were rescued from the unsanitary home on September 12. Dakota Dodd, 24, and Aubrianna Freeman, 22, were subsequently arrested on charges of child neglect.
The police were alerted to the situation by a concerned neighbor. Upon arrival, officers were led to a bedroom by Dodd where the two boys, aged 3 and 4, were found covered in dried feces. The mother of the children, Freeman, is also facing charges of child neglect.
Describing the scene, Oklahoma City police Master Sgt. Gary Knight said, “The walls and children were smeared with feces. It was an utterly revolting sight.” He added that the officers were nearly overwhelmed by the stench of feces and urine permeating the residence.
The children were found with feces embedded in their fingernails, palms, feet, legs, and faces, according to a police report obtained by Law and Crime. The report further detailed the appalling conditions of the home, including piles of what appeared to be human feces on the second floor and a bedroom floor covered in multiple piles of smeared and flattened human feces.
Due to the nauseating conditions, investigators had to don hazmat suits when examining the crime scene. Dodd, the boys’ stepfather, reportedly confessed to police that he locked the children in the filthy room for over 12 hours daily so Freeman, their mother, could sleep and to “keep the kids safe due to the neighborhood,” according to a police report cited by News 9.
An 11-month-old baby girl, Dodd’s biological daughter, was also removed from the home. The neighbor who reported the alleged neglect told News 9 she saw the boys naked in the window. “They looked at me as if to say help me,” Barbara North said. Dodd and Freeman have been charged with five counts of child neglect.