EXCLUSIVE: Parents facing child neglect charges after poor living conditions in trailer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — After living in filthy conditions, two parents on Jacksonville’s Northside have been arrested and face child neglect charges.

According to the arrest report, the suspects, Annabelle and Stephen Rawlins, were living in a home full of bugs and mold.

It says the father, one of the suspects arrested, knew of the bad conditions and said he only needed a week to clean it up and fix the bug problem.

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Roaches, fleas, and an obscene amount of clutter can be seen in the appalling video given to Action News Jax, in which many of the walls are covered in roaches.

Jacksonville parents facing child neglect charges After living in filthy conditions, two parents on Jacksonville’s Northside have been arrested and face child neglect charges. (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office)

“I was very overwhelmed, very overwhelmed, and I put myself in the kids’ shoes, and I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t do it,” Amber Baker said.

Baker lives next door to the Rawlinses, took the video and gave it to Action News Jax. She said she’s never seen anything so bad.

According to the arrest report, it says the home was covered with insects and that the bed where the kids sleep was covered in fleas, cockroaches, and other bugs.

“Nothing but trash, half-eaten hot dogs and roaches is all I can remember,” Baker said. “Gnats all in my face and dirty diapers everywhere, it was beyond livable means.”

The arrest report says debris, mold, and clutter can be seen everywhere. It states the water in the kitchen and bathroom didn’t work, before adding that the tub hasn’t been used in months and the kids were told to go to the bathroom outside.

“There’s no excuse for this, no financial reason, no emotional reasons. It’s just not acceptable,” Baker said.

The report says the kids have been taken out of custody until a permanent solution is found.

Close family members and relatives did not want to speak on camera but say right now, the kids have been placed with other family members.

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Witnesses in the report told an officer that a church offered the suspects help but was denied.

A person whose name was redacted in the report also said DCF has been out several times and offered a number of services.

Close relatives told Action News Jax they feel as if the system failed them.

Action News Jax also reached out to DCF, who said they can’t confirm or comment on whether the Rawlins have been or are being investigated.

The public defender’s office has been appointed to the case, but an attorney hasn’t been assigned to defend the Rawlins.

After seeing the poor conditions of a trailer that children were living in, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrested a couple on felony child neglect charges. A JSO officer was called out to the residence of Stephen Rawlins, 38, and Annabelle Rawlins, 33, last Wednesday to help the Department of Children and Families with allegations of child neglect.

Action News Jax obtained photos of the trailer from someone close to the situation. According to an arrest report, the wooden steps of the trailer were rotting and could possibly give way under the officer’s weight. When the officer opened the front door, there was a foul-smelling odor.

Upon entering, the officer was met with an immense amount of clutter, debris, moldy clothes, and other decay/blight around the home, the JSO report stated.

There was rotting food covered with insects everywhere, a sink piled with moldy dishes, and the officer had to climb over trash and roaches to get to the refrigerator, where inside was rotting and old food, the report stated.

JSO said the officer had to remove fleas from their uniform despite being inside the trailer for only a few minutes. There was only power in the parent’s room and the fridge.

The bed where the children slept was covered in fleas, roaches and other insects, the officer said.

The water in the bathroom did not work and the tub appeared to not have been used in months.

According to the report, if the children had to use the bathroom, they had to go outside.

The children, who were there when during the officer’s visit, were dressed in dirty clothes but had no visible injuries.

The report states the children have lived in those conditions for years.

Another family member was cleared to take the children into her custody, JSO said. Action News Jax has requested the mugshots of the couple. We are waiting to hear back.