DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A West Rockhill, Bucks County couple will spend at least eight years in state prison for severely neglecting their seven children.
Judge Charissa Liller on Tuesday told 38-year-old Crystal Robertson and her husband, 49-year-old Shane Robertson, that there aren’t enough words to describe how appalled she is at the lack of care the two provided to their seven children, who range in age from 4 to 16.
She said their parenting was among the worst she’s ever seen in her career, which includes being a social worker in Pittsburgh, a family attorney and a judge.
The Robertsons each pleaded guilty to seven counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Liller sentenced them each to eight to 16 years behind bars.
Liller said this was not a family living in poverty but instead two adults who put their own interests well above their children’s. She said the only food in the home was for the many animals — including 24 rats, cats, dogs and a lizard, which had its own TikTok page.
The judge said the Robertsons treated the animals better than their children. TikTok videos showed Crystal Robertson brushing the lizard’s teeth and even taking it in costume to see the Easter Bunny. Meanwhile, Liller said the children didn’t have toothbrushes, soap, shampoo or toilet paper.
Liller called the conditions in the home “appalling,” pointing to photos of animal feces smeared on the floor and on a blanket atop a mattress on the floor of a bedroom, which the seven children shared.
The children were not enrolled in school. They had never been to the dentist and needed significant dental work once removed from the home. They were significantly underweight. One had ringworm; another had maggots in her hair.
As she sentenced them, Liller told the Robertsons they should be ashamed of themselves and should feel that shame every day.
As part of their sentence, the Robertsons are prohibited from contacting their children. The children can reach out to them through a therapist, but any contact is limited to letters or a phone call with a therapist present.