A Miami couple has been arrested and accused of committing over 860 acts of child neglect over a period of eight years on their own daughter, forcing her to live outside in horrendous conditions.
Philipe and Sherrine Mathieu, of Little Haiti, both appeared in court Friday morning to answer to 863 counts of child neglect on their 16-year-old daughter.
Authorities learned of the neglect after officers, responding to calls of sexual abuse taking place at the residence, interviewed the girl and learned of the family's deplorable conditions.
According to a Miami Police arrest affidavit, the three lived for "several years" outside, right next to their home.
"[They] have been sleeping, eating, urinating and defecating outside on the property where they own the home," the affidavit reads. "The house is in living conditions, with lights and running water, but the defendants forbid her to sleep, eat or use the restroom in the home."
Police said half of the family's duplex was filthy, while the other half was kept clean for any possible inspections.
The girl told police they'd been living outside for eight years. According to the affidavit, Philipe Mathieu told police that Sherrine Mathieu "refuses to allow them in the home due to cleaning."
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Police also said that the girl was given an allowance of 40 cents per day, and that she used a portion of it to take her clothes to a nearby laundromat to clean them herself.
According to the Florida Department of Children and Families, the girl was removed from the home and brought to one of their facilities in Miami.
Philipe Mathieu, 62, and Sherrine Mathieu, 42, were both being held at detention centers after their court appearance on over $431,000 bond each.
The news comes the same day a Georgia couple who used to live in Miami was sentenced to 40 years behind bars for torturing their young son.
Damita Devonna Peak and Norris Lazarus Walker spent years abusing Peak's young boy, locking him naked in a closet, shooting him with a pellet gun, pepper-spraying him and depriving him of food.
