Whitley deputy responds to welfare check, finds children living in, ‘filth’

 Some may refer to them as nosey neighbors, but Whitley County Sheriff Colan Harrell said a neighbor on Black Diamond Road who requested a welfare check Tuesday afternoon at a home on Black Diamond Road that resulted in three children being removed and their mother and her boyfriend facing criminal abuse charges was being good neighbor.

Deputy Cody Harrell responded the call, reporting that he found three children, ages 11, 13 and 14, living in filth.

“There was trash and clothes in the front yard,” Cody Harrell stated. “Inside the residence was an odor of urine and feces. There was human feces on the bathroom floor and toilet.”

Sheriff Harrell added that looking at the scene, it was apparent the residence did not fall into that condition overnight.

The children’s mother, Christy Thompson, 33 and her boyfriend, Joshua Broome, 25, were each charged with two counts of third-degree criminal abuse and one count of third-degree criminal abuse of a child under the age of 12 and lodged in the Whitley County Detention Center.

They were released later that evening on their own recognizance.

Under Kentucky Law, the charges are class “A” misdemeanors, carrying a potential sentence of up to 12 months in jail and/or up to a $500 fine.

According to officials at the court clerk’s office, no court date has been set in the case.

This is the second such case Whitley County deputies have responded to with the last week.

“People should do this,” Sheriff Harrell said of requesting a welfare check by law enforcement when they suspect an individual may be stuck in an unhealthy or abusive situation, particularly if the victim is a child, elderly or otherwise defenseless.