JEFFERSON CO., Pa. (EYT) – The cases against a Punxsutawney couple charged with child endangerment after reportedly leaving their three young children unsupervised in poor living conditions and failing to meet their medical needs moved forward on Thursday.
Court documents indicate preliminary hearings for 27-year-old David E. Pierce and 26-year-old Brittney Pierce were held on Thursday, September 3.
The following charges against both defendants were waived for court:
– Endangering Welfare of Children – Parent/Guardian/Other Commits Offense, Misdemeanor 1 (ten counts)
The charges have been transferred to the Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas.
The defendants remain free on $10,000.00 unsecured bail each.
The charges stem from an investigation into a report of suspected child neglect in early August.
Details of the cases against the couple:
According to a criminal complaint, on August 6, Punxsutawney Borough Police received a child welfare report from a Jefferson County Children and Youth Services (CYS) employee involving David E. Pierce, Brittney Pierce, and their three children.
According to the complaint, the CYS employee did a home visit with an officer around 5:00 p.m. on July 24, during which she found that David Pierce and Brittney Pierce had been sleeping, and two of the children were nude in the back room with nothing to drink, while the infant was in a swing unsecured.
The complaint states the CYS employee reported one of the children had urinated in the room. The CYS employee also took photographs of the apartment that showed soiled diapers, rolling tobacco, broken furniture, moldy food, knives left on the floor, and beer cans thrown around the apartment. In the bedroom, the CYS employee found prescription bottles on the floor with no safety caps on them.
According to the complaint, when asked how long they’d been asleep, with the children unsupervised, David Pierce stated he went to sleep around 5:00 a.m., and Brittney Pierce stated she went to sleep around noon, leaving the children completely unsupervised for approximately five hours before the home visit occurred.
The CYS employee also provided two child welfare reports indicating ongoing medical neglect involving one of the children who has two medical conditions for which the defendants have reportedly failed to seek proper medical care since the child was six months old, the complaint indicates.
The victim’s medical provider advised the couple to seek treatment at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, and they took the child to Pittsburgh on January 24, 2019, and scheduled additional treatment, but failed to follow through with the procedures. They also scheduled physical therapy for the victim and were provided health ride assistance to get to the appointments, but failed to get the children to their medical appointments to receive proper treatment, according to the complaint.
The CYS employee also provided documentation showing that the couple failed to follow an Early Intervention request for physical therapy and reported that one of the children has a medical condition that requires special care, and the couple have failed to provide the child with the proper treatments, the complaint continues.
The charges were filed against David Pierce and Brittney Pierce through Magisterial District Judge Jacqueline J. Mizerock’s office on August 18.
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