Mother of 12 pleads not guilty to neglect after children found in squalid conditions

TULSA, Okla. — A pregnant Oklahoma mother of 12 pleaded not guilty on Thursday to criminally neglecting four of her children, who were found in a bug-infested, trash-strewn home that had holes in the ceiling and walls.

The 38-year-old woman has more than 30 Oklahoma Department of Human Services referrals and complaints for investigation lodged against her, court papers showed.

The Tulsa Police Department arrested the woman on June 4 at her home for allowing her children to live in unsanitary and unsafe conditions, authorities said. DHS has placed the four children, ranging in ages from 8 to 14, in protective custody.

There were four children in the home when a DHS investigator arrived the previous day. The agency would not provide details on the location of her eight other children. The woman’s 41-year-old boyfriend was also charged with neglect.

Officers said they found foot-high trash piles and rotting food strewn across the floor, dried fecal matter smeared over mirrors and bug-infested mattresses stacked in the yard.

The property did not have running water or electricity.

Acting on a tip from the children, police also found methamphetamine buried in the back yard.

Among the 33 previous complaints made against the woman were violations in 2007 and 2013 of Oklahoma’s Compulsory Education Act, which requires parents to send their children to school or otherwise provide for their education.

None of the other referrals and complaints made against the mother yielded an arrest or criminal penalties.

(Editing by Jon Herskovitz and Peter Cooney)