The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office in St. Helens, Ore. (Google Maps).
An Oregon mother is facing legal trouble after police found her and her two young children living in a fire-damaged home that had no electricity or running water.
Kari Marie Bennett, 31, was charged with two felony counts of criminal mistreatment, two misdemeanor counts of child neglect and two misdemeanor counts of criminal mistreatment after police said they found her and her 2-year-old and 4-year-old children living in squalor. According to court documents obtained by local ABC affiliate KATU, an investigation by the Department of Human Services (DHS) began in September when the agency received a tip that Bennett and her children were living in a dilapidated home in Scappoose, Oregon.
KATU reported that DHS issued a report saying that Bennett slept most of the day and was not watching her children. The home where they were staying was not structurally sound after a fire, and it had no electricity, running water or heat.
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Police said deputies from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office paid a visit to the home three days after the DHS report was issued. When they knocked on the door to speak to Bennett, her 2-year-old son answered the door wearing pajamas and a sagging diaper. Bennett’s 4-year-old daughter then came to the door and told the deputies that she could not wake her mother up.
According to the court documents, police said they were eventually able to wake Bennett. She reportedly explained that she was homeless and trying to get a restraining order against her boyfriend. Police said Bennett agreed to leave the house and bring her family to her father’s apartment.
Police said the children were taken to the hospital on Sept. 30. Both allegedly tested positive for methamphetamine.
Bennett was arrested and released from custody with conditions. KATU reported that Bennett was forbidden from making contact with her children without authorities being present. She is due to appear in court on Nov. 23.
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