Video: Ohio Officer Helps Neglected 7-Year-Old Boy Trying to Sell Toy for Food
“It broke my heart,” Dunham said. “He told me he was trying to sell his stuffed animal to get money for food because he hadn't eaten in several days.”
After finding a young boy all alone trying to sell his teddy bear for food, Franklin, OH, police charged the child’s parents with child endangerment.
Officer Steve Dunham found the child in a busy area and went beyond the requirements of his badge to help.
Officials said they received a call on Sunday afternoon that a young boy was wandering in downtown Franklin alone.
Police said the 7-year-old was peddling his toy in front of a drug store to get money for food.
"It broke my heart," Dunham said. "He told me he was trying to sell his stuffed animal to get money for food because he hadn't eaten in several days."
Dunham took the child to a nearby Subway to get something to eat, then brought him back to the Franklin Police Department.
After further investigation, police said the child and his four brothers lived in squalor. Investigators described the home on Main Street as full of garbage, cat urine and liquor bottles.
Investigators charged the parents with 10 counts of child endangering, WLWT TV reports.
Police said the 7-year-old boy and his brothers, ages 11, 12, 15, and 17, have been removed from the home and are now staying with family members.
The parents have been ordered to have no contact with them.
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