BELOIT (WKOW) - Beloit parents accused by authorities of allowing their young children to live in filth, without enough food, speak to 27 News and dispute they've neglected their kids."The house was in disarray, but it wasn't what they're saying it is," Heather McCoy tells 27 News.Several criminal charges were lodged Tuesday against Heather and Lakeidric McCoy, including felony child neglect resulting in harm. They are both free on signature bonds, with their next, scheduled court appearance in May.Authorities say eight young children were removed from their Randall Street home last month. A criminal complaint states there was "...rodent feces on the kitchen table...pile of dirty clothes with flies swarming around them...refrigerators...packed full of food, much of it rotten.""Everybody has problems, everybody has struggles, but it's not neglect," Heather McCoy tells 27 News. "We fed our kids every day, three times a day, plus," she says.A criminal complaint also says once one of the children was out of the home and in foster care, he was "...trying to hide food in his pajamas...to make sure...he had food.""We have the WIC growth charts showing that they're right exactly where they're supposed to be," Lakeidric McCoy tells 27 News, referring to the state's Women, Infants and Children Food and Nutrition Service.
But a complaint states one of the children's weight had gone from the 40th percentile in 2016, to the first percentile at the time of his removal from the home.
The McCoys allowed a 27 News camera into their home Wednesday, and showed us several rooms, but the not entire home. There was no obvious filth in the kitchen, and a refrigerator was stocked with food. A dog was in a crate in a room adjacent to the kitchen. One of the bedrooms where children lived was largely empty, with the exception of a new, bunk bed set still in its packing box.
Heather McCoy says the house's condition last month was more cluttered, as the family prepared for a possible move that's now on hold. Court records state seven of the children shared two queen sized beds pushed next to each other, with stained mattresses."They're concerned about kids sleeping on queen size, pillow top mattresses," McCoy responds.
Court records also state one child had scars all over from belt-beatings from an older sibling; another child had a scar from a cigarette burn.
Records also show six children were removed from Heather McCoy's Dane County home in 2010, when she was married to a different man as Heather Foster.
"Ex-husband was substantiated for maltreatment, molestation," McCoy tells 27 News, conceding her parenting was also a factor in the removal.But McCoy says in the nearly two years she and her husband have cared for children in their Beloit home - including two grandchildren - she's been conscientious and caring.McCoy's 18-year old son, Reese Foster, says he's being home-schooled, and tells 27 News he supports his mother and stepfather.
"What they care about are the children of this family," Foster says.Police say say another one of McCoy's adult children reported the allegedly deplorable conditions to appropriate authorities. She has yet to respond to a request for comment from 27 News.McCoy tells 27 News staff members from Rock County Child Protective Services have warped the reality of her home.
"I really think this is just a railroad," McCoy says. "I already know how CPS works and I know they'll build a case against anything, how they're able to twist things," she says to 27 News.
Child Protective Services Manager Lance Horozewski has yet to respond to requests for comment from 27 News.
Beloit Police spokesperson Sarah Millard declines comment on the allegations against the McCoy. She also declines to allow 27 News to see any evidence photo of the home as it was when the McCoys were arrested in March.
For more on this story: http://www.wkow.com/story/38043838/2018/04/25/beloit-parents-speak-out-on-charges-young-children-lived-in-filth-lacked-food