VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Deputies responded to a Volusia County home this week after they said a 15-year-old girl who is deaf and mute showed up to school wearing dirty clothes with cockroaches in her backpack.
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Investigators said when they arrived at the home of Samantha Acker, 37, Christopher Rounds, 36, and their four children ages 16, 15, 10 and 8, they found it in “complete disarray.” Deputies said there was a foul odor coming from the home, no working AC and trash piled up making it nearly impossible to open doors to the children’s rooms.
Deputies arrested Acker and Rounds on charges of child neglect, finding the house unsuitable for the children to live in.
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Deputies said during their investigation, they learned no one in the house knows sign language to communicate with the 15-year-old girl despite her being deaf and mute since birth. Investigators also said the Department of Children and Families has previously been called to the house after reports of potential “unsuitable living conditions,” and a child having “chronic head lice.”
Investigators said they found no evidence that the children were physically abused. They said all four children were removed from the home and temporary custody was given to family friends.
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Chanel 9 is working to learn more about the case and will bring you live updates starting at 4 p.m. on Eyewitness News.
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