CLEARFIELD – A Curwensville woman is accused of raising her three young children in unfit living conditions.
Kylie Rankin, 25, is charged by Curwensville Borough police with three misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of children.
She waived her right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday, sending her case to county court. Her bail was set at $15,000, unsecured.
According to the criminal complaint, an officer was requested to assist Children & Youth Services at a Fourth Avenue apartment Dec. 14.
When he arrived, the caseworker explained she was there to perform a home check, but no one would come to the door.
The worker identified the mother in question as Rankin and indicated she had three children.
She said she could hear the children inside the apartment but got no answer when she knocked.
The officer approached the door and inside he could hear children talking as well as a loud television.
He knocked and announced police presence. This time Rankin answered holding a dustpan of trash.
“Upon the defendant opening the door, I was immediately met with the pungent and overwhelming odor of animal urine and rotting food,” the officer wrote in the complaint.
The CYS worker requested permission for authorities to enter, which Rankin permitted.
The officer noted his boots stuck to the tile floor and how he could audibly hear them separate from the floor as he walked.
The apartment was allegedly in disarray with food covering the floor, dishes piled in the kitchen sink and dirty clothing strewn about.
There was also a dog “running wildly” and a brown substance consistent with feces on the wall near the entrance to the kitchen, police said.
As authorities closed the front door, a small male child appeared at the top of the stairway on the second floor. He was reportedly completely nude with yellow marker all over his legs; two female children were in the living room.
When the CYS worker questioned Rankin about why she didn’t answer the door and the conditions of her home, Rankin indicated she was asleep and got confrontational.
Rankin claimed she had been cleaning, speaking in a raised voice and cursing at the worker. She said CYS needed to “work on her schedule,” as she wasn’t even aware of this visit.
The worker asked to check the rooms of all three children. In the first room, there were reportedly numerous stains on the wall and carpet, which were covered by pieces of food. There was also no bed.
Rankin, when asked why she didn’t have a bed for her child, said he prefers to sleep on the couch.
On the second floor, the officer observed “filthy” conditions and noted the large pile of dirty clothing at the top of the stairway and food crumbs throughout.
There were also soiled children’s underwear lying in their pathway as Rankin took them to the other bedroom, police said.
It was also in disarray with food crumbs about, stained carpeting and two beds without sheets, according to the complaint.
When authorities asked to check the bathroom, Rankin took a knife from the banister to open the door and when she did, it was allegedly “overflowing” with trash and soiled clothing.
Rankin was immediately advised her children could not live in these conditions and would be removed. Rankin became argumentative, accusing the CYS worker of wanting her children but eventually did find a relative to take them.
As she prepared for her children’s removal from the home, she reportedly put forth “minimal effort” and wasn’t providing astute supervision.
The officer noted one child picked up a piece of rotting food off the floor and nearly ate it but was stopped by the CYS worker.
“The defendant also had two diapers available for three children,” and had “no plans” of how she would obtain more, according to the complaint.
After the children were released to a relative and police advised Rankin she would be charged with child endangerment, she claimed she’d been keeping the apartment clean.
“It was very clear that was not true,” the officer said. “… She showed no concern for the scene before me.”
