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Tennessee Police Follow Animal Cruelty Tip And Find Caged Toddler, Snakes And Drugs

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Marlo Safi Culture Reporter
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Police in Tennessee were following an anonymous tip reporting animal cruelty when they discovered a mobile home filled with snakes, drugs, guns and a toddler in a cage, the Associated Press reported Friday.

Upon arriving at the mobile home Thursday in Henry County, police found an 18-month-old boy in a 4-by-4 dog kennel in a living room where eight snakes, including a 10-foot boa constrictor, were being kept. Buckets filled with hundreds of mice were also found in the home, along with 15 to 20 dogs running freely inside the property, the Associated Press reported.

The child was reportedly filthy but unharmed and is now in state custody, according to WVLT

There were also feces covering the floor and thousands of cockroaches and maggots, Henry County Sheriff Monte Belew told the Associated Press.

Officials captured dozens of animals outside the home, including 86 chickens and roosters, 56 dogs, 10 rabbits, four parakeets, and three cats. 

More than a dozen guns, including semi-automatic guns, and over 100 marijuana plants were also confiscated. 

Heather Sacarbrough, 42, T.J. Brown, 46, and Charles Brown, 82, were charged with aggravated child abuse, aggravated cruelty to animals, and manufacturing marijuana and other counts, Belew told the Associated Press. The three include the boy’s mother, her boyfriend, and his father, according to the Lexington Herald Leader. (RELATED: Advocates Of Child Abuse Victims Fear Continued Rise In Abuse Reports Due To Lockdown Orders)