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Grandpa Gets Probation For Letting Kids Live in Filthy Family Home Filled With 110 Cats
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A 69-year-old man has been sentenced to three years probation following a guilty plea to two misdemeanor counts of child abuse and endangerment for his role in exposing two youngsters to the family home filled with 110 cats.The cats were being hoarded as part of an illegal rescue operation, and several of the felines were feral. The Santa Ana house was laden with feces, urine, roaches, and flies, and yet the older man, John Ed Howe, shared the space with four other adults and two young girls. All five of the adults face charges.
The other adults who were charged are: Sharon Lynn Howe, 66, who is due in court Feb. 5; her daughter Kerri Lynn Howe Moreno, 45, who has a Jan. 22 court date; Moreno's husband Jessy Moreno, 42, who is also due in court Jan. 22; and Kerri Moreno's daughter Courtney Lynn Howe Perez, 24, who has a Feb. 5 court date.
Mr. Howe now lives on his own, where the two young children who once lived with him at the family home, are able to come visit.
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Authorities from the local police and animal control department went to the home in February 2011, where they found unsanitary and dangerous living conditions. In fact, the situation was so dire, the team had to leave and return wearing hazmat gear.
At the time, the children, girls aged six and 12, were living among the filth; one slept on a living room couch and another in a bedroom.
The Howes said they had intended to get a license to run the rescue.
Previously: Family Allegedly Hoarded 110 Cats In Home Coated In Feces, Urine, Cat Hair, Roaches, and Flies
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