CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (WSIL) -- A woman in Cape Girardeau faces a charge in connection to an abuse and neglect of a child investigation from over the weekend.
The Cape Girardeau Police Department said officers assisted the Division of Family Services in regards to a child abuse investigation on November 2, at around 2:30 p.m.
Police said they arrived at a home in the 1400-block of N. Spanish Street in regards to a hotline call involving a 17-year-old.
Police said officers on scene talked with Jacqueline Straughn, 51 of Cape Girardeau, through a window at the home. Police said she told them she last provided food to her son on October 31.
The officers on scene then forced their way into the home and said they saw a large amount of dog feces and urine in the home. Police said the feces had been in the home for an extended period of time and made it difficult to breathe for those in the home.
Police then said they found the juvenile in bed without any clothes on and looked lethargic. It was also reported there was a large amount of feces found under where the child was and the child was not wearing a diaper and not properly cleaned.
A Cape Girardeau police report also stated the child looked malnourished and had several bug bites on his body. The room the child was in was also covered with trash and it didn't appear there were any clothes available for the child, police added.
According to online court records, Straughn faces an Abuse or Neglect of a Child felony charge. Her initial appearance in court was on November 4 in the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse.
