PALM COAST, Fla. — A Flagler County woman was arrested after deputies said a child with autism was found outside naked and barefoot before investigators discovered hazardous conditions inside the home.
Carla E. Nishikura, 41, faces three counts of child neglect without great bodily harm, according to an arrest affidavit.
Deputies responded July 16 to a Palm Coast home for a welfare check after a child was reportedly seen wandering outside without clothing. A neighbor located the child and returned them to the residence before deputies arrived.
Nishikura told deputies the child, who is nonverbal and has a history of leaving the home, got out through the garage while she was sleeping. She said she usually secured interior door handles with zip ties but forgot to do so the previous night, according to the affidavit.
Inside the home, deputies reported a strong odor of feces and said fecal matter covered floors, walls and ceilings in the kitchen and living room. Investigators also found cracked electrical outlet covers that exposed wiring accessible to the children.
One bedroom had only a bed frame without a mattress and was covered in fecal matter, cracked eggs and urine, the affidavit states. Deputies said the child had been sleeping on a couch because of the condition of the room.
A case manager told deputies she had visited the home the previous day and reported the living conditions to the Florida Department of Children and Families. One child said they had been told not to enter the bedroom because of hazardous material inside, according to the affidavit.
Nishikura acknowledged the condition of the home but told deputies she was unable to manage the home and children on her own.
She was arrested and taken to the Flagler County jail.
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