Fla. couple allegedly made nonverbal man live in 'makeshift hut' in their backyard
08/11/2023 9:18 am PDT
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (TCD) -- A 56-year-old caretaker and his 59-year-old girlfriend were arrested this week after police found a nonverbal man "living in squalor" in the backyard of a house.
According to St. Petersburg Police, the department received a call from the Department of Children and Families after receiving a report about an intellectually disabled nonverbal 22-year-old behind a home. The victim was reportedly "forced to sleep outside and sometimes stayed in a makeshift hut in the backyard."
Japheth Garvey, the caretaker, and Antoinette Mundy allegedly did not let the man inside the house to shower. The man reportedly had feces all over his body when police got there.
Garvey and Mundy were arrested and charged with neglect of a disabled adult.
WFLA-TV reports St. Petersburg Police Department Public Information Officer Ashley Limardo said someone called an abuse hotline to report the victim was "forced to live outside." She said the 22-year-old was in "not very great condition" and looked malnourished.
A neighbor who reportedly knows the victim and provided him with food called the situation "torture."
A photo of the dwelling provided by WFLA shows a shoddy wooden structure with a tarp-like covering serving as a roof and a wood plank as a door.
Pinellas County Jail records show both Garvey and Mundy are being held on $5,000 bond.
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