A couple is facing charges that they neglected five children, some of whom were found in soiled diapers in a gated-off area of their home in Woodstock, which was in deplorable condition.
Jeremy D. Ruffin Sr., 35, of Woodstock, was arrested on Thursday after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Ruffin Sr. failed to appear in court after he was charged earlier this summer with five counts of child endangerment, court records show.
Erica L. Bell, 34, of Woodstock, was also charged in connection. She faces abuse or neglect by a caregiver, reckless conduct causing great bodily harm, obstructing justice and five counts of child endangerment.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court alleges Ruffin Sr. and Bell endangered the lives of five children — ages 3, 4, 5, 11 and 14 — around August and September 2022.
The complaint said Ruffin Sr. and Bell, who are boyfriend and girlfriend, allowed the state of their home, in the 1200 block of Walden Oaks Drive in Woodstock, to be in disarray.
Officers found stale food sitting out on the floor and throughout the home producing an odor.
The living spaces were cluttered with garbage and household items, the complaint said.
The children in the home were found to be kept on the second floor which was gated off by a dog gate and bungee cord, the complaint said.
Officers found that several of the children located on the second floor were in soiled diapers and unsupervised.
The home also had holes in the floor caused by an uncovered vent system on the second floor, the complaint said.
The complaint said Bell attempted to prevent law enforcement from entering the home in September 2022 and claimed her 14-year-old son, who has a disability, had been kidnapped.
A grand jury indictment said Bell lied to a police officer by telling him that the 14-year-old had broken his leg that month and that he resided in Alabama.
Officers learned the child had actually broken his leg two years prior in 2020 and was residing with Bell in Woodstock, not Alabama, the indictment said.
The indictment said Bell failed to take the 14-year-old to multiple doctor appointments and physical therapy post-surgery after being advised to do so by a doctor, resulting in great bodily harm to the child’s leg, between July 2021 and September 2022.