BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA: The Pennsylvania parents of seven who were already slapped with serious child endangerment charges following the discovery of their house of horrors months ago are now facing new assault charges filed by the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, 6ABC News reports.
The new charges were filed on September 25, just two days before Shane Robertson turned 48 and roughly one month after Crystal Roberston turned 38.
The charges were based upon interviews of children JV1 (a 16-year-old girl), JV2 (a 14-year-old girl), JV3 (a 12-year-old girl), JV4 (a 10-year-old girl), JV5 (an 8-year-old girl), JV6 (a 6-year-old boy), and JV7 (a 4-year-old girl) following their April 23 rescue from the Sellersville trailer park home.
What did the children say?
According to JV1, the eldest child, her father punched her in the face back in February and injured her nose. Shane Robertson chased after the victim when she tried to run away and then dragged her back to the home by her hair in front of her siblings, the affidavit said.
JV2 said both Shane and Crystal Robertson “beat us up,” according to cops.
“She reported that Shane Robertson, her father, was more physically abusive than Crystal Robertson, her mom, but that both would hit and injure the children,” the affidavit said. The victim said that her mother beat her with her dad’s belt. JV2 also stated that her father once threatened to “suffocate” her.
“JV2 reported that Shane and Crystal were arguing, and Crystal told Shane, ‘do whatever you want, kill them if you want,'” court documents say. “Shane then took a ‘brown, fluffy’ blanket and held it tightly over JV2’s face, impeding JV2’s ability to breathe.”
Authorities said that other siblings, including JV5, remembered hearing her sister having breathing difficulties.
One of the children was asked to stab herself
JV2 further informed the police that her father once gave her a knife and told her to go in the bathroom and stab herself. The victim said that on one occasion, her father told her to take her life behind a shed on the property. The child allegedly claimed her parents punched the children in the face and left them with black eyes.
“JV2 described one incident where Shane struck her, leaving her eye ‘fluffy, black, and blue,” the affidavit said. JV3 allegedly told cops that her parents abused her JV1, JV2, and JV6 more frequently and harder than the other children.
“JV3 described one incident in or around September of 2022 where JV2 and JV3 took one of the family dogs outside, and the dog was ultimately struck by a car,” the affidavit continued. “Shane and Crystal hit both JV2 and JV3, leaving welts.”
Children were abused their 'whole lives'
The girl also revealed that her mother would threaten to kill the children’s pet rats and that her father abused the siblings “basically our whole lives,” cops said.
“There would be times where Crystal would leave while Shane was beating the children, and Crystal would tell Shane to ‘have at it,'” JV3 told police, adding that JV6, the couple’s only son, was “beaten the worst.”
JV3 alleged that both parents used cords “or anything within their reach to strike the children,” including the suspects’ own hands.
One victim remembers being beaten while starved
JV4 recalled the starving children being beaten with cords, a belt, and hands when they took food from a refrigerator or their mother’s purse.
“As a result of the children ‘stealing’ the food, Shane would beat the children,” the affidavit said. “JV4 reported that these beatings would leave red marks, and JV6 would get welts.”
The girl said that her father hit both her and her younger brother in the face. JV5 said “we got beat by daddy and mommy a lot,” but she claimed her siblings were hit harder than she was.
“JV5 described Shane leaving big red marks on JV6 after beating him. JV5 also described Shane striking JV2 with a cord and leaving a red mark,” the affidavit ended.
Victims received no formal education
The seven children with no formal education were discovered in late April living in filthy conditions surrounded by animals at the Roseann Lane residence. Authorities received a call about two children, JV3 and JV2, entering an abandoned neighboring trailer. JV3 explained that she had taken a blanket to keep her rats warm.
“Upon their arrival, [officers] found a 12-year-old juvenile female (henceforth JV3) in the front yard of 655 Roseann Lane, directly next door to 675 Roseann Lane. JV3 began speaking to officers by explaining that her parents told them not to go over to the abandoned trailer and that her parents should not be held responsible,” said the initial affidavit of probable cause.
“JV3 continued by stating she was only taking a blanket to keep her rats warm because her family does not have much money left,” it stated.
“Over the next week, it was learned that none of the seven children had any formal education, and all lacked basic knowledge. Some of the children did not know their own birthdates. Four of the children suffer from speech impediments,” investigators said.
“All of the children struggle with reading, writing, and spelling. They all exhibited social anxiety and disclosed that they did not like being in public or around other people,” they added.
What did the authorities find inside the home?
The children's parents were not home when the authorities arrived at the scene. The suspects later allowed cops to look around their residence but they were left in utter disbelief by what they saw inside.
“Crystal Robertson stated that they were going through so much food that she had to put a lock on the refrigerator because they were ‘stealing’ everything and referred to the children as ‘garbage disposals with legs,'” the affidavit detailed.
“Upon entry into the trailer, officers found the refrigerator to be locked shut with a bicycle lock. The interior of the trailer was also in obvious disrepair and disarray,” it added.
An “unkempt” JV1 appeared and Shane Robertson lied that she was the last daughter he had, when in reality he had three more daughters and a son.
“When Officers arrived, they met with Shane Robertson outside of the home, who advised he had seven children and did not tell officers this earlier because he did not want to get in any trouble,” according to law enforcement’s account.
Authorities noted that four of the children had to be taken to a hospital for evaluations and all of them, except for JV2, were “clinically malnourished.” Many of the children were sick, several had “poor eyesight,” one had maggots in her hair, at least two were “clinically underweight,” and the lone boy had a “dangerous abscess in his mouth” and “13 visible cavities.”
“JV5 and JV7 tested positive for Covid 19. JV1 and JV7 had low kidney function. JV2, JV3, and JV5 had fevers and were diagnosed with Acute Viral Syndrome,” the affidavit detailed further. Authorities said that none of them were educated and some of them didn’t even know when they were born.
