A pair of Greenwood residents were charged in Johnson County after a 10-year-old called police to report that he had been sitting outside for more than five hours with a hairline fracture and that his home lacked electricity.
According to court documents recently filed in Johnson County, Wideline Lops, 31, and Fritz Michelin, 31, were each charged with one count of neglect of a dependent, a Level 6 felony.
Officers from the Greenwood Police Department conducted a welfare check on a 10-year-old on Oct. 22 after a call was placed to dispatch. According to the documents, the boy indicated that he was sitting outside by himself with a torn ACL and that his home had no electricity. The caller said that the child had been outside for almost five hours.
When cops arrived, the boy claimed to have ruptured his ACL the day before while playing soccer. When asked why he wasn’t in school, the boy replied that a relative, Michelin, and his roommate, Lops, “told him not to because he couldn’t walk.”
According to the records, a woman approached law enforcement at the site and claimed to be a nurse who had checked in on the injured youngster.
According to the records, Lops was alerted of the injury, but she assumed Lops did not appreciate the gravity of the situation due to a language barrier. Michelin was also informed, but he reportedly advised the child to ice it so it would heal on its own.
The child also reportedly told law enforcement that he was outside using his friend’s wifi. The documentation said that he had access to the apartment, but there was no one inside and no electricity. When law enforcement authorities entered the residence, they described it as “dirty.”
Law enforcement sought to contact both Michelin and Lops, according to the records. Officials said both could not be reached. The boy claimed that the last time he saw Michelin was around a month ago and that he was being cared for by Lops.
According to the paperwork, the child was taken into DCS custody on October 27 and sent to the hospital. It was discovered that the child had a hairline fracture.
According to the records, the boy was “fearful of what (Michelin) would do if he found out he had gone to the hospital. ” The child reportedly stated that he “might kill him or beat him with a belt to the point where marks are left like he has before.”
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