A horrifying case in South Carolina has seen two parents charged after their six-month-old baby girl was left covered in blood and bite marks from what police say was a rat attack.
Emergency teams rushed to a home in Belton, western South Carolina, early Friday morning after a mother called 911 in a panic. Deputies from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department arrived to find a scene straight out of a nightmare: blood all over the baby’s bassinet and the infant bitten across her arms, face, ears, and the back of her head, according to the Mirror.
“The bite marks span across the baby’s arms, back of the head, ears and face,” said the sheriff’s department in a statement. The poor child was quickly taken to Greenville Memorial Hospital for urgent treatment.
Shockingly, when investigators looked further into the situation, they discovered the baby’s twin brother had also been bitten—this time on his feet. And it didn’t stop there.
The parents, Akayla and Justin Bearden, both 24, reportedly told officers they’d known about rats being a problem in their single-wide home for months. Still, they continued living there with their three kids, despite the clear risks.
As a result, both have now been charged with two counts of unlawful conduct towards a child. All three of their children are now in the care of child protection services. Police haven’t confirmed the condition of the twin brother or revealed any details about the third child, including whether they’d also suffered neglect.
The baby girl remains in the hospital and is expected to stay there for the next few days while the case continues to be investigated. In the meantime, both parents have been banned from having any contact with their children unless specifically approved by child protection officials.
They’re due back in court on 31 July. In South Carolina, the charge of unlawful conduct towards a child is a serious felony. If prosecutors can show that someone knowingly put a child at risk or caused harm, they can face up to 10 years in prison.
This disturbing case comes against the backdrop of thousands of child maltreatment cases reported each year in the state, more than 14,500 in 2022 alone, though that number is slightly down from previous years.
As for this case, police are still piecing together exactly what happened inside that home. But one thing’s already painfully clear—those children were let down long before the rat ever found them.
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