CLEARFIELD – A Clearfield woman has been accused of providing deplorable living conditions for five children.
Jessica Jo Sabol, 37, has been charged by Officer Elliott Neeper of the Lawrence Township police with five felony counts of endangering the welfare of children.
Sabol waived her right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court at the Clearfield County Jail. Bail is currently set at $100,000 monetary.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, on Jan. 25, Neeper went to Sabol’s apartment in Lawrence Park Village to conduct a warrant service.
Sabol was advised of the active warrants against her, and she acknowledged she was behind on payments. The Clearfield County Sheriff’s Office was summoned to respond.
While Neeper spoke with Sabol, she indicated she had five children to get dressed, and she also needed to find someone to take custody of them.
Police proceeded to contact Clearfield County’s Children, Youth & Family Services Office and Sabol started upstairs to dress her children.
Neeper, along with Sergeant Julie Curry, followed and discovered all five children – an infant, three toddlers and a teen – were in a single bedroom with two mattresses on the floor.
When police crossed the threshold of the second floor, they reportedly detected the “pungent odor of trash and rot.” There were also multiple holes that appeared to have been punched into the walls.
The master bedroom – where they all slept – was reportedly littered with food, trash, clothes and dirty diapers. When they lifted the bed blanket, police saw a large number of flies and fruit flies.
Between the mattresses where they all slept, officers reportedly found partially-eaten food, trash and an accumulation of mold, and additional flies were around a floor-level pack-n-play for the infant.
Officers went to check an adjacent bedroom and had to forcefully open its door. Inside they found it was “ankle deep” with dirty trash bags that contained used diapers, food, drink bottles, clothing, etc.
Flies and fruit flies were observed in the air, and other bugs were on the floor. “The odor was … nauseating,” Neeper said, and they had to leave and close the door.
Inside the bathroom, there were reportedly clothes, used feminine hygiene products and trash on the floor with food and drinks in the sink and tub areas.
Neeper and Curry checked a third bedroom, which had a smashed door and there were more scattered, dirty clothes. A child jumper seat also had apparent dried feces on it.
There were other boxes and clothing, and the crib was only partially assembled, according to the affidavit.
Officers moved everyone to the living room area on the first-floor, where there was also scattered clothing. The kitchen area had food and used pots and pans stacked in the sink.
Additional trash was located both inside and outside the apartment’s back door. More flies and fruit flies were seen throughout the living area.
After CYFS arrived on-scene, police reportedly located a blue pill stamped PM on the floor, which Neeper said could have been picked up by any child.
The pill was suspected acetaminophen, which was collected and turned over to CYFS. Neeper photographed the upstairs areas and Sabol was taken to county jail by a sheriff’s deputy.
Sabol’s five children were subsequently turned over to CYFS.
