Police take 6 kids, 4 youths into protective custody in Philly basement case

10/19/2011

PHILADELPHIA — Police say they have taken six juveniles and four young adults into protective custody in connection with the discovery of four mentally disabled adults found locked in a northeast Philadelphia basement last weekend — and two of them might be children of one of the victims.

Police spokesman Lt. Raymond Evers they also found the 19-year-old niece of one of the defendants malnourished and with signs of abuse.

He says police scoured northeast Philadelphia for the juveniles after being alerted by Florida police. The 2- to 16-year-old juveniles and the 18- to 19-year-old adults are getting medical evaluations. Evers says police are looking into the possibility that the woman found locked in the basement may be the mother of the two youngest children, but tests are needed to determine that.