On Friday of last week, Chattooga County, Georgia Sheriff Mark Schrader, released a statement about a horrendous case of child neglect, occurring recently in that area.  A couple have been jailed after the Sheriff’s Department investigated the case.  Two small children were taken to the Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Emergency Room in Rome.  According to reports, both toddlers were unable to walk, or stand, due to severe malnutrition and dehydration; emergency room workers notified the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office about the obvious case of abuse and neglect.

Joseph David Wilson, Jr., and Santeria Watkins, both age twenty-two and both of Summerville, were charged with three counts each of – cruelty to children in the first degree – and two counts of cruelty to children in the second degree among other charges.

A third child of that couple, was in the care of a family member – and was also found to have been neglected, but reportedly not to the same degree as the two smaller children – twelve months and twenty-three months.

The Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the case.

(AMN1180 Chattooga County Radio)