SELLERSVILLE, Pa. - Neighbors are reacting as painful new information emerges about seven children who were removed from deplorable conditions last April. Officials now say those children were also severely abused by their parents.
Police on Monday filed new charges, including strangulation, following conversations with the children after they were taken from their home, in the Green Top Trailer Park in West Rockhill Township, months ago.
"Thank God they're in jail," a neighbor, wishing to remain unidentified, said. "Throw away the key please."
Some neighbors living very close to the family's home on Roseann Lane didn't want to appear on camera, but spoke with 69 News about how distressed they are.
"We are horrified," the same neighbor said. "This is all, we had no idea."
Neighbors are now learning just how bad it allegedly was for the seven juveniles ranging in age from four to 16 at the time of the alleged incidents.
"My heart just broke," another neighbor, also very close to the home, said. "I broke down in tears that night. Fact, I get misty eyed now thinking about how those kids were treated."
New charges against parents Shane Robertson and Crystal Robertson on Monday come with disturbing new details described in court papers.
Documents describe an account where one of the seven children under 12 said, "we got beat by daddy and mommy a lot."
The affidavit alleges Shane punched one of his girls in the face, "causing a bloody nose."
When she tried to run away, Shane dragged her back by her hair, court papers say.
Another of the seven said once, when Shane and Crystal were arguing, Crystal told Shane, "...kill them if you want." Then Shane held a blanket over the girl's face, as she struggled to breathe, authorities said.
Shane is now charged with strangulation. He and Crystal both face several charges of simple assault.
This all comes after the seven children were removed from the home back in April for living in squalor.
Court papers described six of the seven kids as clinically malnourished.
"They used to climb the fence and steal food from their garden," one neighbor tells 69 News.
The newest details say the kids were starving, so they would "steal" food out of the fridge or Crystal's purse. For this, Shane would beat the children with cords, his belt, or his hands, authorities said.
Some of the neighbors tell 69 News they would wonder why the kids were outside, sometimes barefoot or without jackets. But none of the neighbors say they realized the extent of the abuse.
Julie Mermon lives down the street from the home.
"We were devastated," she said. "Because no one knew. So if we would have known, we would have done something about it."
"It was during COVID," a nearby neighbor said. "I tried to talk to the mother off and on, but she was very curt and the kids always ran away from me."
The papers also say, "Both Shane and Crystal would use a cord, their hands, or anything within their reach to strike the children."
Injuries included "red marks, handprints, and welts," according to one child. That child also says a sibling, identified in the documents as JV6, was "beaten the worst."
JV6 is one of the four children under the age of 12.
What's more, one child says Shane handed her a knife and told her to stab herself. Another time, papers say he told her to go behind the shed and kill herself.
While one child described Shane as more abusive than Crystal, another recounted how Crystal would leave and tell Shane to "have at it" while he was beating the children.
Both parents are at Bucks County Correctional Facility. They're due for a preliminary hearing for the original and new charges on Monday.
267-893-4799
Service Areas
