DETROIT – Two parents are in jail and charged with child abuse after police did a welfare check at a camper in Detroit.
Police said they found the family living in deplorable conditions on Jan. 22. Investigators looked further into the case and arrested the parents for child abuse.
Gwendolyn Josephine Alexander, 29, of Detroit went before a judge on Wednesday. Alexander is a mother of three children who are under the age of 7. Her attorney also said that she is pregnant. Alexander cares for her parents.
Alexander is facing a torture charge and two counts of second-degree child abuse and two counts of third-degree child abuse. Alexander and her fiance, Robert Scott, are accused of beating her 6-year-old son in front of another one of her children.
The judge’s first concern was where the children are. Alexander said they are with her sister. The family lived at a camper on Berkshire Street.
Detroit police were deeply concerned about several things. There was a rifle the family kept inside the camper, the living conditions in general indicated apparent child neglect. There was also stern physical discipline that parents are accused of favoring.
The arraignment judge entered a not guilty plea for Alexander and gave her a $50,000 bond with 10 percent surety. Alexander was ordered to not have any contact with her children or her sister who is caring for them.
Alexander and Scott are both in jail, neither could make bond.
Scott has a $75,000 cash bond. He went before a judge on Tuesday.