Editor's Note: Some of the details of this story are hard to listen to or read.
A Wake County man and woman are facing charges of abuse, neglect and other serious crimes.
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The Wake County Sheriff's Office said the arrests stem from a February report in southern Wake County.
Following an investigation, 34-year-old Lacy Douglas Hocutt Jr. and 33-year-old Rachelleigh Marie Galasso were arrested on Wednesday, the sheriff's office said.
Prosecutors in court said the alleged crimes are among the worst they have ever seen.
Prosecutors said six children, ranging in age from one to fifteen years old, were removed in mid-February from a home, and each has health issues. They said the children did not have schooling, meaning none of them can read or write.
According to prosecutors, multiple children will have to have teeth removed and cannot eat without pain.
A 13-year-old child was kept in a dog kennel, according to court documents. He was deemed "so grossly underweight that it was life-threatening."
"He now rocks back and forth, and all he yells is, 'You're never getting out. You're never getting out,' which we can only assume is what was screamed at him while he was in there," the assistant district attorney told the judge on Thursday.
During Hocutt and Galasso's first appearances in court on Thursday, prosecutors also detailed the disturbing state of the home.
“When CPS [Child Protective Servics] and [the] Wake County got involved and [the] sheriff's office went out there, it was so filthy that investigators had to wear protective gear,” the Wake County assistant district attorney said.
Warrants said Hocutt and Galasso left a child’s scoliosis untreated to the point that she “will have to suffer from the condition for the remainder of her life.”
On Thursday, Hocutt and Galasso were both assigned public defenders in court. Hocutt's charges could land him in prison for life.
Authorities are holding Hocutt and Galasso without bond. They are both due back in court on April 23.