Two Riverside parents accused of "serious child abuse" were indicted on multiple charges Friday.
Maleah Renee Henry-Reed, 20, and Dustin William Shade, 25, were indicted Friday on four counts of endangering children and one count of tampering with evidence.
According to the Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office, on Tuesday, January 17, Henry-Reed took her 15-month-old daughter to Hope Medical Center in Dayton because the child was sick.
The child was immediately taken by ambulance to Dayton Children's Hospital and was admitted to the intensive care unit. Dayton police were dispatched to the hospital on child endangerment from hospital staff.
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The 15-month-old was so malnourished that she weighed less than 10 pounds, which is closer to what a 15-week-old child would weigh, according to Heck.
"No parent who cares for their children would allow them to get so dehydrated, or not even have food and go to the weight that they did, its ridiculous," Heck said.
The medical staff at Dayton Children's notified the Riverside Police Department about the critical condition of the child because they suspected abuse, according to Heck.
Riverside police obtained a search warrant for the couple's house.
"The officers noticed the residence did not appear clean, was a mess, and the entire house smelled of urine," Heck said.
Officers were met by the child's father, Shade, who was holding the couple's five-year-old son. The five-year-old was also taken to the hospital and was found to be severely malnourished, only weighing about 20 pounds.
"Its very difficult for one to believe that no one else saw those children. It's hard to believe that no one else, neighbors, family members, especially over the holidays, no one else noticed these severely underweight children, and also that they didn't report it to the authorities," Heck said.
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During the investigation, it was also learned that Henry-Reed is pregnant with the pair's third child.
Shade is currently in custody in the Montgomery County Jail being held on a $500,000 bond. He is set to be arraigned on Tuesday, Jan, 31.
Henry-Reed posted bond and was released. She is set to be arraigned Thursday, Feb. 9.
Heck says the prosecutor's office has filed a motion with the court to have the bond increased to $1,000,000 on both Henry-Reed and Shade.
"There is simply no excuse for what these starving children endured," Heck said. "These defendants were literally starving their children to death. Thankfully the victims recieved the urgent medical care they desperately needed."
