BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. – Seven children are now in the protective custody of social services after deputies stated they were found living in “deplorable conditions” Wednesday afternoon.
“One of the children did not know where their parents were and was also hungry,” stated Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis. “Animal feces, human feces, trash and food particles were located in the upstairs of the home.”
Lewis stated that deputies were initially called to a residence on Patriot Lane in Summerville after a home inspector found the children locked inside their residence without adult supervision. The house was also in complete disarray.
“Our investigation led us to discover that a total of seven children were living in these conditions. At that time, we notified DSS,” stated Lewis. “They arrived and took custody of all the children that lived in the residence.”
While at the residence, deputies stated that the parents of the children arrived home and unlocked the door to let the children out.
Erik Perez-Viera, 22, and Diana Sablon, 26, were ultimately taken into custody and charged with 10 counts of unlawful conduct toward a child. Five of the children belonged to them.
The children’s ages range between one and 10-years-old, along with an infant, according to the sheriff.
“At this time, my detectives are still interviewing and collecting more information and working with the solicitor’s office to determine if there will be additional charges for the renter who was living downstairs,” stated the sheriff.
Lewis stated that 12 people total were living inside the house. Two individuals were living in a garage downstairs, he added. The owner of the residence is apparently out of state but the sheriff stated that they are interested in talking with that individual.
“We are very thankful and appreciative of the home inspector that realized that after getting inside that something was wrong,” stressed Lewis. “There are other folks we need to talk to. This is a complicated case. We’ll be reaching out to family members, neighbors and possibly school officials.”
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