Cruelty, neglect charges filed against Rhode Island woman already charged in death of special needs child
Michele Rothgeb, 56, pleaded not guilty last month.
A Rhode Island woman already charged with manslaughter in the death of one of eight special needs children who was in her care is now facing additional charges of cruelty to or neglect of a child.
The new felony charges filed last month against Michele Rothgeb, 56, allege she improperly cared for the seven other children at her Warwick home, which first responders found in squalor when Zha-Nae, 9, died in January, The Providence Journal reports.
Police found bugs on the ceiling, “garbage all over the house,” and a pile of soiled diapers in Zah-Nae’s bedroom, according to The Journal.
One of two beds in the bedroom “had been soiled with feces and urine and appeared not to have been changed in many months,” authorities said.
Rothgeb had told police she was sick with the flu and that she delegated duties caring for the other children to her 15-year-old grandson, who has Asperger’s syndrome, The Journal reports.
A report released by a panel of child-care experts and the state child advocate in June cited instances in the home when children were left for hours in high chairs, malnourished, and confined in sleeping bags or tents, according to The Journal.
Rothgeb, who housed two dogs, was also charged with “unnecessary cruelty to animals” in November, the newspaper says.
She pleaded not guilty on Nov. 22 to the new charges and was released on $10,000 surety bail, The Journal reports. Her lawyers did not return requests for comment from the newspaper.
Rothgeb is slated to be back in court on Jan. 6 for a pretrial conference.
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