Source: Flagler County Sheriffs Office
Five children were found living in absolute horrid conditions at a home in Flagler County last week, and now their father is facing a charge of child neglect, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies described the inside of the home as "deplorable" with urine, feces, rotting food, trash, flies, and cockroaches throughout, and knives left out within reach of a child, according to the arrest report. Some of the children – aged 2, 4, 8, 15, and 16 – were walking around the home barefoot, deputies said.
The Flagler County Sheriff's Office responded to a home on Barley Lane in Palm Coast on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, after a grocery delivery driver noticed a 2-year-old child wandering in the street.
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The child got into the delivery driver's car for a moment, then got out and walked across the street to his home, authorities said.
That driver called 911 out of worry. Deputies responded to conduct a welfare check.
Before going into the home, trash and discarded food on the floor. Inside, there was a "strong odor of feces, urine, mold, and mildew," FCSO said.
"Clumps of fuzzy feces" were found in the laundry room, as well as trash and food. More waste was found in bedroom closets, deputies said.
Deputies said the children live at the home with their mom, dad, and another man, described as a roommate. The dad and roommate were at home when deputies arrived. The mom was reportedly working.
Nicholas Carter, the dad, told deputies that the 2-year-old walked out of the garage to the end of the driveway and was gone for a few minutes, deputies said in the report. He was unable to explain why the house was that dirty. He reportedly described the house as "a little dirty," the report said.
Carter was arrested and booked into jail for child neglect and obstruction without violence. Deputies alleged Carter tensed up while being arrested.
The Florida Department of Children and Family Services was also contacted.
According to the sheriff's office, deputies have responded to the home at least 16 times since January 2023 – a 20-month span.
On March 4, 2023, deputies responded after a child was found wandering in the roadway, FCSO said. On Dec. 30, 2023, the Palm Coast Fire Department responded after a child reportedly had a seizure after ingesting marijuana.
"Hopefully, this time DCF will take serious action to turn the homelife around for these children, the least of which is to learn how to be a parent and clean up his house," Sheriff Rick Staly said in a written statement.
FCSO said Carter was arrested on a charge of child neglect in February 2020, though the details of that case were not immediately known.