Authorities investigating ‘disturbing allegations of child abuse’ against Taunton couple
“DCF had received an anonymous report about three children allegedly living in squalor.”
A Taunton woman was charged with assaulting a police officer during what authorities called an investigation into “disturbing allegations of child abuse” at her home on Sunday. Police say Melissa Jean Hope, 34, refused to allow officers into her home and then assaulted one of them once they were inside. She was arrested and the three children that were in her home on Sunday were taken into the custody of the Department of Children and Families.Here’s what we know about the abuse allegations and the violent encounter with police.
What authorities are saying
Taunton police say officers went to the home on East Water Street around 6:15 p.m. on Sunday at the request of DCF, which asked that officers assist with an investigation into an allegation that child abuse was going on inside the apartment there. Officials from DCF met the officers at the home.“DCF had received an anonymous report about three children allegedly living in squalor,” police said in a statement. Police said a woman, later identified as Hope, and a man refused to allow the officers to enter the apartment.“Due to the exigent circumstances surrounding the report of abuse and danger to children, the police officers forced entry into the home,” police said. “After entering the apartment, a Taunton officer was allegedly assaulted by Hope.” She was immediately placed under arrest, and the three children were taken away by DCF “due to the living conditions” in the apartment, according to police.According to The Taunton Daily Gazette, a police report on the incident stated that allegations of neglect and abuse by Hope and her husband, Matthew Hope, included “sexual assault and the keeping of children in cages.” When police entered the couple’s apartment, Matthew Hope complied with orders to sit down, while Melissa Hope attempted to block the officers from locating the children by standing in a hallway, according to the report. The 34-year-old allegedly grabbed one of the officers in the area of his neck and throat and pushed him backward. She was arraigned in Taunton District Court on Monday and released on personal recognizance. Taunton police referred additional inquiries to DCF and the Bristol County District Attorney’s office. Details about the conditions the children were found in were not released by police.“Additional charges may be filed over the course of the ongoing police and state investigation,” police said of the incident.
What the family is saying
Melissa Hope is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on Nov. 15. Her court-appointed attorney, Lynn Porreca, told the Gazette that another lawyer is representing the family on the portions of the case pertaining to DCF. “They don’t necessarily think the facts are accurate as reported in the police report,” she told the newspaper, speaking on the assault and battery charge.Matthew Hope told the Boston Herald that he and his wife have a “medium-sized” dog crate, which he said they keep their three cats in when someone is visiting them. He denied keeping any of their children in a cage, according to the newspaper.“My house is not a mess,” Matthew Hope told NECN. “I don’t cage my children. So wherever they’re getting this from is completely falsified and untrue.”According to the Herald, Matthew Hope’s 13-year-old stepson was removed from the home by DCF last year. “We’re not bad parents,” he told the newspaper. “We love all of our kids. And they are trying to make us out like we’re monsters.”
