A Lynnwood-area man was charged with unlawful imprisonment Thursday for allegedly locking three young children in a filthy room that had feces smeared on the wall.
Robert Eugene Dole, 25, was being held in Snohomish County Jail on $25,000 bail.
A woman who lives with him is under investigation, and the children are in the care of the state Child Protective Services division.
Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies Monday went to the apartment on Lincoln Way to serve an arrest warrant charging Dole with assault during a domestic dispute.
Officers found one of the bedroom doors tied shut with rope and an elastic cord. The officer heard a young boy saying, "Let me out," deputy prosecutor Lisa Paul said.
Officers found two boys, ages 6 and 2, and a girl, 4, inside.
"The 2-year-old had no diaper on. The floor was covered with crumbs, filth and feces," Paul said. The younger boy "had a bad rash on his bottom, and all the children were filthy," she said.
"There was feces smeared on the wall next to the door. There was a bunk bed with inadequate covers and three pillows on it, a Nintendo Game Boy, a TV, four toy cars and three stuffed animals," she said.
There was no water, but officers found an empty popcorn bag, a candy wrapper, half-eaten pastry, a paper plate and several sucker sticks, she said. There was an unsecured window in the room, and if the children had tried to get out that way they would have fallen two stories, Paul added.
The oldest child told officers they were put I the room daily so their "mother could do work around the apartment." The child said his mother locked the children in the room when she got out of bed in the morning and didn’t feed them until lunchtime.
"The child said his mother told them not to tell anyone about being locked in the room," Paul said. "The child said he had tried to get out of the room, but could not."
The woman returned from shopping while officers were there. She said she and Dole restrain the children "so they can get things done around the apartment," Paul said. The room was secured with ropes because the door was defective, she said.
She told officers she let the children out to eat and go to the bathroom, Paul said. When asked about the feces, she told officers that the youngest child had defecated and she just hadn’t had time to clean it up, Paul said.
Officers also said the rest of the apartment was filthy and unsanitary, Paul added.
When the mother was told the children would be taken from her by Child Protective Services, she started cleaning up the apartment, Paul said.
According to court documents, CPS has had several complaints about both defendants, the latest the previous week when the 6-year-old told school officials that Dole had pushed him into a bookshelf.
A police report in 1999 said officers found the home filthy while responding to a report of the older boy being neglected.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
