02-20-2012, 01:00 AM
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/2...hild-abuse
The house was, by all accounts, filthy and unfit for children to live in, filled with dog feces, urine, rotting garbage and other hazards.
It was the type of home from which the state routinely removes children, at least until the the dangers are eliminated.
But more than two years after two toddlers were removed from the home in eastern Jefferson County and placed with a family member, prosecutors entered into what some local officials say is uncharted terrority in so-called “dirty house” cases: prosecuting twin sisters for raising the children in such a hazardous environment.
Local officials say the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services routinely investigates dirty-house cases, but it’s rare for them to wind up in Family Court — and unheard of for anyone to face criminal charges where no child was injured in the home, as is the situation for Jeanette Allen and Janet Doughty, who are charged with criminal abuse and wanton endangerment over the home’s condition.
“It is our belief that these are the only two people in Jefferson County that have ever been prosecuted” in a case like this, Allen’s attorney, Brian Butler, said during a recent court hearing, where he argued that the case should be dismissed for selective prosecution.
“This never happens. ... These people are being treated differently and unfairly.”
The defense claims that Allen and Doughty, in their early 20s, are being singled out because of what happened to their children after they were removed from the home.
Christopher Allen, 2, was beaten to death and Wyatt Allen, his half brother, also then 2, was injured within days of being removed on Aug. 25, 2008, and placed with their aunt, Nereida Allen.
Jeanette Allen is Christopher's mother, and Doughty is Wyatt's mother.
Nereida Allen and her former boyfriend, Joshua Peacher, were convicted last year of wanton murder, assault and criminal abuse and sentenced to 47 and 70 years in prison, respectively, for the death and abuse.
The house was, by all accounts, filthy and unfit for children to live in, filled with dog feces, urine, rotting garbage and other hazards.
It was the type of home from which the state routinely removes children, at least until the the dangers are eliminated.
But more than two years after two toddlers were removed from the home in eastern Jefferson County and placed with a family member, prosecutors entered into what some local officials say is uncharted terrority in so-called “dirty house” cases: prosecuting twin sisters for raising the children in such a hazardous environment.
Local officials say the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services routinely investigates dirty-house cases, but it’s rare for them to wind up in Family Court — and unheard of for anyone to face criminal charges where no child was injured in the home, as is the situation for Jeanette Allen and Janet Doughty, who are charged with criminal abuse and wanton endangerment over the home’s condition.
“It is our belief that these are the only two people in Jefferson County that have ever been prosecuted” in a case like this, Allen’s attorney, Brian Butler, said during a recent court hearing, where he argued that the case should be dismissed for selective prosecution.
“This never happens. ... These people are being treated differently and unfairly.”
The defense claims that Allen and Doughty, in their early 20s, are being singled out because of what happened to their children after they were removed from the home.
Christopher Allen, 2, was beaten to death and Wyatt Allen, his half brother, also then 2, was injured within days of being removed on Aug. 25, 2008, and placed with their aunt, Nereida Allen.
Jeanette Allen is Christopher's mother, and Doughty is Wyatt's mother.
Nereida Allen and her former boyfriend, Joshua Peacher, were convicted last year of wanton murder, assault and criminal abuse and sentenced to 47 and 70 years in prison, respectively, for the death and abuse.