Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to a welfare check after receiving reports of four young children, all under the age of six, being left unsupervised.
Upon arrival, Special Victims Unit detectives discovered abhorrent living conditions. The apartment itself was covered in feces, with a bucket of urine also found inside.
The children were eventually found and the appeared to be in a soiled state, with the youngest suffering from a severe diaper rash according to CPSO.
Roughly two hours into the investigation, the children’s mother, 25-year-old Daionjanee R. Young of Lake Charles, returned home.
When questioned by detectives, Young admitted to leaving the children asleep at around 2 or 3 a.m. to pick up food. However, upon finding the restaurant closed, she went to a friend’s house and fell asleep there, leaving the children alone for several hours.
Young was subsequently arrested and booked into the Calcasieu Correctional Center. She faces four counts of cruelty to juveniles and four counts of child desertion.
The Department of Child and Family Services has since placed the children in state custody.
'It's heartbreaking' | Lake Charles mother arrested after officers find children abandoned for hours in feces-covered apartment
The Department of Child and Family Services has since placed the children in state custody.
