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Moldy lunches trigger arrests
Parents charged with endangering teenage children
By MIKE CHALMERS
The News Journal
09/13/2004
A Fairfax couple have been charged with child endangerment after their 17-year-old daughter brought two mold-covered lunches to school and police found the family living in a home filled with rotten food, dirty laundry, insects and cat feces, New Castle County police said.
The girl and her twin brother, the children of Ronald B. and Nancy E. Tieste, are staying with their grandmother, she said Sunday night. The Tiestes' home at 208 Waverly Road in Fairfax has been condemned by a county code inspector, police said.
The Tiestes could not be reached for comment Sunday night. Neighbors along Waverly Road said the Tiestes' house was always filled with trash, but the children usually seemed happy and healthy.
The case against the Tiestes is spelled out in documents filed in Justice of the Peace Court by a New Castle County police officer on Friday. Police released information about the charges Sunday.
The investigation began Friday when officials at Brandywine High School called county police after the Tiestes' daughter, who has Down syndrome, came to school Thursday and Friday with lunches covered in black mold, according to court documents. One lunch was a package of Lunchables-brand chicken wraps that expired May 22, and the other was a Pathmark-brand lunch pizza that expired July 17.
A state family crisis therapist who works at the school told police the Tiestes had been arrested previously after similar problems, court documents show. No further details on those charges could be obtained Sunday night.
Joe Smack, spokesman for the state Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, said the department's policy prevents him from discussing previous complaints about the couple. He said investigators are looking into the case.
A school nurse told police the girl has a severe case of Down syndrome and the mental capacity of a 5-year-old, according to court documents.
Police went to Lombardy Elementary School, where Nancy Tieste is a teacher. Her husband, who works at Wachovia Bank in Philadelphia, happened to be there, too, police said.
Nancy Tieste told the officer they did not know the lunch was moldy. Previous problems with moldy food prompted them to give her the prepackaged Lunchables, she told the officer.
The officer went with the Tiestes to their home. When he went inside, the officer said in court papers, he smelled a strong odor of mold and mildew. Water damage on the ceiling had created black mold. Dirty laundry cluttered the room.
When the officer opened the refrigerator, "a cloud of flies and fruit flies swarmed out," he said in court documents. The refrigerator was filled with old food and ants. Mold, insects, cat feces and cobwebs filled the other rooms of the house, the officer said.
The Tiestes' 17-year-old son said the family hasn't had visitors since he was little, he told police.
Jackie Winfield and Mary Wheeler, who are sisters, live next door to the Tiestes. They said they almost never talked to the Tiestes. Winfield said she peered through a rear window once and saw waist-high piles of trash strewn in a back room.
"It didn't have furniture in it," Winfield said. "It just had piles of stuff, all across the back room of the house. It was in total disarray."
Wheeler said she once stopped by the Tiestes' house to give their son an Easter basket. "Every counter was piled high with stuff," Wheeler said. "You just can't imagine."
There has been no regular trash pickup service for at least the past year, the women said.
Winfield said she rarely saw the children playing outside, but when she did, they were happy, polite and seemed to be well cared for.
"Every once in a while, I'll see the girl out back, and she likes to sing," Winfield said. "She was out there singing and leading an orchestra - you know, like little kids do."
Wheeler said the Tiestes' 17-year-old son shoveled snow from her walk but refused to take money for the job. She insisted he take a box of cookies, Wheeler said.
Wheeler said her daughter once taught with Nancy Tieste and described her as "a marvelous teacher."
Parents had history of endangerment
Fairfax couple arrested Friday were guilty of similar charges in 2002
By MIKE CHALMERS
The News Journal
09/14/2004
The case against a Fairfax couple charged with child endangerment is almost identical to a case against them from 2002, court documents show.
Ronald B. and Nancy E. Tieste, of 208 Waverly Road, each face two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a felony. New Castle County police said their 17-year-old daughter brought moldy lunches to school and their home was filled with trash, dirty laundry, rotten food, insects and cat feces.
A trash-removal service was cleaning out the Tiestes' house Monday, three days after a county code inspector condemned it. Workers wearing latex gloves and dust masks hauled boxes, bags and other items from the house into trucks throughout the day.
"There's a lot of work to be done to bring it up to code," New Castle County spokesman Vincent Kowal said.
Ronald Tieste, 55, a banker in Philadelphia, and Nancy Tieste, 57, a teacher at Lombardy Elementary School, could not be reached for comment Monday.
The previous case against the Tiestes began in October 2002, when their daughter brought mold-covered sandwiches to school, court papers show. The girl, then 15, has Down syndrome and the mental capacity of a 5-year-old child, police said.
In 2002, as they did last week, New Castle County police went to the Tiestes' home and found it filled with trash. In court papers then, an officer described it as "in total disarray with piles of clothing and other articles covering residence, creating a substantial hazard."
The state Division of Family Services placed the girl and her twin brother with their grandmother, court papers show. The Tiestes were found guilty of two counts each of endangering the welfare of a child. A Family Court judge sentenced them to a year of probation and ordered them to take parenting classes from Child Inc., a nonprofit social service agency.
Apparently as a result of the police investigation, a New Castle County code inspector found numerous health and safety violations at the house and ordered the Tiestes to clean up the place, Kowal said. The Tiestes did so, he said.
Court records show the Tiestes completed the parenting classes and cooperated with the Division of Family Services to improve the safety of their home. A judge ended their probation after about seven months, and Family Services closed the case, the records show.
The case would have put the Tiestes on the state Child Protection Registry, state documents show. The registry keeps track of people who, the state has determined, have neglected or abused children. It is divided into four levels, depending on the severity of the case.
Before the state revised the law in February 2003, public schools were not prohibited from hiring people on the registry.
Family Services spokesman Joe Smack said he could not discuss the specifics of the Tiestes' current or previous cases. But he said family therapists always consider previous complaints when developing a safety plan for children.
"Obviously, history will come into play in a new case," Smack said. "If there are things that need to be modified to make sure the kids are safe, they would do that."
Smack said fewer than 3 percent of families served by the division return with similar problems within a year.
This is absolutely disgusting!!!!
The neighborhood they live in is expensive & a nice one.... Gross!
Parents charged with endangering teenage children
By MIKE CHALMERS
The News Journal
09/13/2004
A Fairfax couple have been charged with child endangerment after their 17-year-old daughter brought two mold-covered lunches to school and police found the family living in a home filled with rotten food, dirty laundry, insects and cat feces, New Castle County police said.
The girl and her twin brother, the children of Ronald B. and Nancy E. Tieste, are staying with their grandmother, she said Sunday night. The Tiestes' home at 208 Waverly Road in Fairfax has been condemned by a county code inspector, police said.
The Tiestes could not be reached for comment Sunday night. Neighbors along Waverly Road said the Tiestes' house was always filled with trash, but the children usually seemed happy and healthy.
The case against the Tiestes is spelled out in documents filed in Justice of the Peace Court by a New Castle County police officer on Friday. Police released information about the charges Sunday.
The investigation began Friday when officials at Brandywine High School called county police after the Tiestes' daughter, who has Down syndrome, came to school Thursday and Friday with lunches covered in black mold, according to court documents. One lunch was a package of Lunchables-brand chicken wraps that expired May 22, and the other was a Pathmark-brand lunch pizza that expired July 17.
A state family crisis therapist who works at the school told police the Tiestes had been arrested previously after similar problems, court documents show. No further details on those charges could be obtained Sunday night.
Joe Smack, spokesman for the state Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, said the department's policy prevents him from discussing previous complaints about the couple. He said investigators are looking into the case.
A school nurse told police the girl has a severe case of Down syndrome and the mental capacity of a 5-year-old, according to court documents.
Police went to Lombardy Elementary School, where Nancy Tieste is a teacher. Her husband, who works at Wachovia Bank in Philadelphia, happened to be there, too, police said.
Nancy Tieste told the officer they did not know the lunch was moldy. Previous problems with moldy food prompted them to give her the prepackaged Lunchables, she told the officer.
The officer went with the Tiestes to their home. When he went inside, the officer said in court papers, he smelled a strong odor of mold and mildew. Water damage on the ceiling had created black mold. Dirty laundry cluttered the room.
When the officer opened the refrigerator, "a cloud of flies and fruit flies swarmed out," he said in court documents. The refrigerator was filled with old food and ants. Mold, insects, cat feces and cobwebs filled the other rooms of the house, the officer said.
The Tiestes' 17-year-old son said the family hasn't had visitors since he was little, he told police.
Jackie Winfield and Mary Wheeler, who are sisters, live next door to the Tiestes. They said they almost never talked to the Tiestes. Winfield said she peered through a rear window once and saw waist-high piles of trash strewn in a back room.
"It didn't have furniture in it," Winfield said. "It just had piles of stuff, all across the back room of the house. It was in total disarray."
Wheeler said she once stopped by the Tiestes' house to give their son an Easter basket. "Every counter was piled high with stuff," Wheeler said. "You just can't imagine."
There has been no regular trash pickup service for at least the past year, the women said.
Winfield said she rarely saw the children playing outside, but when she did, they were happy, polite and seemed to be well cared for.
"Every once in a while, I'll see the girl out back, and she likes to sing," Winfield said. "She was out there singing and leading an orchestra - you know, like little kids do."
Wheeler said the Tiestes' 17-year-old son shoveled snow from her walk but refused to take money for the job. She insisted he take a box of cookies, Wheeler said.
Wheeler said her daughter once taught with Nancy Tieste and described her as "a marvelous teacher."
Parents had history of endangerment
Fairfax couple arrested Friday were guilty of similar charges in 2002
By MIKE CHALMERS
The News Journal
09/14/2004
The case against a Fairfax couple charged with child endangerment is almost identical to a case against them from 2002, court documents show.
Ronald B. and Nancy E. Tieste, of 208 Waverly Road, each face two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a felony. New Castle County police said their 17-year-old daughter brought moldy lunches to school and their home was filled with trash, dirty laundry, rotten food, insects and cat feces.
A trash-removal service was cleaning out the Tiestes' house Monday, three days after a county code inspector condemned it. Workers wearing latex gloves and dust masks hauled boxes, bags and other items from the house into trucks throughout the day.
"There's a lot of work to be done to bring it up to code," New Castle County spokesman Vincent Kowal said.
Ronald Tieste, 55, a banker in Philadelphia, and Nancy Tieste, 57, a teacher at Lombardy Elementary School, could not be reached for comment Monday.
The previous case against the Tiestes began in October 2002, when their daughter brought mold-covered sandwiches to school, court papers show. The girl, then 15, has Down syndrome and the mental capacity of a 5-year-old child, police said.
In 2002, as they did last week, New Castle County police went to the Tiestes' home and found it filled with trash. In court papers then, an officer described it as "in total disarray with piles of clothing and other articles covering residence, creating a substantial hazard."
The state Division of Family Services placed the girl and her twin brother with their grandmother, court papers show. The Tiestes were found guilty of two counts each of endangering the welfare of a child. A Family Court judge sentenced them to a year of probation and ordered them to take parenting classes from Child Inc., a nonprofit social service agency.
Apparently as a result of the police investigation, a New Castle County code inspector found numerous health and safety violations at the house and ordered the Tiestes to clean up the place, Kowal said. The Tiestes did so, he said.
Court records show the Tiestes completed the parenting classes and cooperated with the Division of Family Services to improve the safety of their home. A judge ended their probation after about seven months, and Family Services closed the case, the records show.
The case would have put the Tiestes on the state Child Protection Registry, state documents show. The registry keeps track of people who, the state has determined, have neglected or abused children. It is divided into four levels, depending on the severity of the case.
Before the state revised the law in February 2003, public schools were not prohibited from hiring people on the registry.
Family Services spokesman Joe Smack said he could not discuss the specifics of the Tiestes' current or previous cases. But he said family therapists always consider previous complaints when developing a safety plan for children.
"Obviously, history will come into play in a new case," Smack said. "If there are things that need to be modified to make sure the kids are safe, they would do that."
Smack said fewer than 3 percent of families served by the division return with similar problems within a year.
This is absolutely disgusting!!!!
The neighborhood they live in is expensive & a nice one.... Gross!
