BEDFORD – Two people were arrested after Bedford Police officers were called to 2516 Sanders Lane to assist the Department of Child Services in removing three juveniles from a home in an active child in need of services case on Tuesday, January 10.
All of the children were under the age of 5.
When police arrived they were met by the children’s mother 25-year-old Samantha Nickless. The father of the children 28-year-old Todd Bokern was not home.
Police and caseworkers noted the living conditions were “extremely filthy”. The majority of the floor throughout the residence was covered in “trash, dog food, and animal feces”.
There was also a large number of flies and other types of bugs in the home, and at one point, one of the children picked up a used toilet brush and began playing with it before an officer told him to put it down.
After the children were removed from the home, a DCS worker reported to police that after the children were bathed, they found the children were covered in bug bites.
The information was forwarded to the Lawrence Prosecutor’s Office and warrants were issued for Bokern and Nickless. Each faces three counts of neglect of a dependent.
