PONTIAC (WWJ) - Donations are being collected for children that the Oakland County Sheriff said were abandoned by their mother in a Pontiac home.
The mother was arrested after her children — a 12-year-old girl and two boys, ages 13 and 15 — were found in a home full of garbage and human waste on Friday afternoon. She was identified Wednesday as 34-year-old Kelli Bryant and she was charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse.
Sheriff Michael Bouchard said he had “never encountered a scenario as dire and prolonged as this one.”
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office has been collecting money, clothing and other donations for the children, who are now in the custody of a family member.
Bouchard on Tuesday said the community stepped up in such a big way that he has stopped requesting clothing donations. Speaking at a press conference Tuesday afternoon, he pointed to a large pile of backpacks, clothes, toiletries, shoes and more and called it "just a tiny sample of what we’ve received at the office."
"At another office of ours, we have bags and bags. So we don’t need anymore clothing," Bouchard said, noting the sheriff's office is now turning towards focusing on monetary donations.
The sheriff's office is partnering with the local charity Mission Oakland and 100% of money raised will go directly to the children. Donations can be made through this PayPal link.
Bouchard said his office is now searching for a local law firm that will step in and help setup a trust fund to "so that we can take 100% of what we receive in donations for these kids" make it available for them to help cover medical and mental health costs. He said any overage donations could go towards their future education.
“We’d like to be able to hand the baton to a trust fund that will manage it in a way that makes sure it’s just the kids. I'm not suggesting that anybody else would do anything with it, but we’re looking for a mechanism where we can hand this off," Bouchard said.
While Bouchard said any money will greatly help the abandoned children, "it won't make up for the 3-4 years that they've been subjected to these conditions."
"You see those videos of animals in just terrible conditions on commercials and it pulls at your heartstrings. Imagine maybe by 10 living in what we showed you and then play it out over years, not days or weeks," Bouchard said. "It's hard to wrap your head around."
Bouchard said the 15-year-old was the only one of the children who went outside during the several years they were left alone.
"He came out twice. Once because he wanted to feel the grass -- which by itself is heartbreaking -- and a second time to check the mail. You wouldn't do this to an animal," Bouchard said.
Bouchard is also asking Michigan lawmakers to propose legislation that would prevent children from "slipping through the cracks." Specifically, he wants amendments to the school code that would require schools to get written confirmation before a student is unenrolled.
"If a child doesn't show up at a school for a period of time, then it triggers a follow-up where they have to communicate with either a truancy officer or law enforcement to begin an examination of what happened to these kids," Bouchard said. "Where are they? It's unbelievable to think that we've got three kids who fell off everybody's map for years."
With the investigation continuing, Bouchard said so far it appears that any other adults in the children's lives were unaware they were being kept in terrible conditions. He said their mother told people who asked about the kids that someone was babysitting them or "other kinds of things."
Bouchard also said the mother would occasionally drop food off in front of the door or have food delivered for the children.
The father, who spent time in prison, reportedly had a consent order to see the children, but the mother wouldn't allow that.
Veronica Collins, who donated to help the children, told WWJ Newsradio 950's Darrylin Horne she is blown away by the case.
“I don’t understand why nobody knew. That is the biggest question. Where were the relatives, where were the neighbors? More so on the relatives. And I know they were placed with relatives, which is very concerning to a lot of people," Collins said.
Bouchard said other family members "feel like they're being hounded" by media requests and are asking for privacy at this time.
This is a developing news story. Stay tuned to WWJ Newsradio 950 for the latest updates as they become available. >>> LISTEN LIVE!