Cocoa woman accused of leaving children home alone in unsafe, unsanitary conditions

COCOA, Fla. — A 41-year-old woman is accused of leaving two children home along in unsafe and unsanitary conditions.

Cocoa police said they found two children with no supervision and nothing to eat sharing their residence with cockroaches and rodents after an anonymous caller reported them being home alone.

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Officers said Constance Brown, 41, is facing charges of neglect.

“It was very unsanitary,” Det. Debra Titkanich said. “It posed health risks. It was one of the worst that I’ve seen. So, we needed to act quickly in order to get the children into a safe environment.”

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According to investigators, the children told them Brown “left them at home” while she went to work. They also said they were hungry and there was no food in the residence that they could eat. They said they would go to neighbors’ homes for food.

Officer said the Department of Children and Families has been notified.

Police said they found rodent feces and roaches inside the home, but nothing edible for the children.

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One of the kids told police they would sometimes feed the rats.

When Brown arrived at the home, police said she told them she was expecting her cleaning lady to come by and take care of the kids.

Police said they were never able to contact the lady Brown said was supposed to be there.

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Police said the children’s father lives in a separate household and didn’t know about their living coniditons. They said once he was notified, he took immediate action.

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