Several adult members of a Davenport family were taken into custody on April 26 and 27 for alleged child neglect.
Rex Mitchum, Jr., Jasmine Stewart, Juanita Mitchum, Ray Mitchum, Sr., Joyce Mitchum, Alicia Mitchum and Ray Mitchum, Jr. were charged with four felony counts each of child neglect on April 29, according to court documents.
This carries a potential maximum punishment of up to life imprisonment, District Attorney Adam Panter said.
Jasmine, Ray Sr., Juanita, Joyce andAlicia all had initial appearances on April 30 at the Lincoln County District Court and will return on May 14 for pre-preliminary hearings. Rex and Ray Jr. have initial appearances on May 7, according to court documents.
The Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office was informed of neglect concerns on April 14 by DHS Child Protective Services and the Davenport Police Department, Panter said. They were told that the Mitchum family was being uncooperative with multiple attempts by both DHS and the PD to meet and talk with four children who resided in the home.
According to the probable cause affidavit, DHS attempted to enter the home located within the city limits of Davenport to speak with the children, with assistance from the Davenport Police Department, on April 14. They were denied entry and told to leave the property, with Ray Sr. threatening them if they attempted to take the children.
Panter said his prosecutors identified significant red flags.The children were moved temporarily to another safe location, a joint investigation was launched, and a search warrant was executed on April 16 by DA investigators with assistance from Davenport PD and other agencies.
“As reflected in the Probable CauseAffidavit, the home was in the most horrendous condition the investigators had ever come across in their careers,” Panter said.
Investigator Tony Foreman wrote in the affidavit that when he first attempted to enter the home on April 15 to document its condition, there was a strong odor that he could smell from about 30 feet away. He was then turned away by the family. Foreman said he spoke with the Davenport police chief, who informed him that the house had previously been condemned and was going to be destroyed, but the town council allowed the family to move back in.
On April 16, Foreman served the search warrant and entered the home. He reported that there were thousands of cockroaches, flies and other insects inside the home where seven adults, four children, eight dogs and two cats resided. He stated that the filth was as thick as nearly an inch in some places, with layers of dirt, grime, feces from dogs and cats, and insects.
He noted in the report that the ceiling was falling in the room where the children apparently slept and that it too was covered in filth, trash and insects. The kitchen, bathroom and other rooms were in horrible conditions as well, covered in trash and insects. The odor of the home was so bad, it made Foreman gag several times even though he wore a medical mask with an alcohol swab, the report said.
“During this investigation, it has been determined there is a 30-plus year history of neglect involving the grandparents and parents of these children, whom all live in this house currently,” Foreman wrote. “At the conclusion of the search, I was advised by Davenport Code Enforcement Officer Patrick Buzick that the home was going to be condemned.”
To ensure that the children remained safe and could not return to the home, DA investigators removed them from their temporary location and placed them into protective custody on the same day of the search warrant, Panter said. They are now safe.
He said as soon as his office was notified, they took action.
“Although they are safe now, the children were failed by the system. I do commend DHS and the Davenport Police Department for their commitment to ensuring the children were safe in this case,” Panter said. He added that cases like this are why his office has been drafting and pushing new legislation every year to strengthen reporting laws and ensure better coordination and cooperation between law enforcement and DHS child welfare.
“My goal is to ensure that no abuse or neglect of a child ever slips through the cracks,” he said.