Police rescued a 7-year-old girl from squalor on Tuesday in Spring, Texas, after discovering the child’s mother was allegedly working as a prostitute out of their home.
The Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office said it received “numerous tips and complaints about possible prostitution activity at the home and a child living in an unfit home,” per KPRC 2.
Deputies conducted an undercover operation, with one posing as a potential john. The undercover made an appointment to meet with the child’s mother, who allegedly agreed to perform sex acts in exchange for money.
Law enforcement then raided the house and discovered that the 7-year-old was living in reportedly “horrible conditions.”
Motioning to photographs taken of the inside of the house, Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman stated at a press conference last Thursday, “This is all this child knew. This here, to this child, is probably normal, and they know nothing else.”
He added, “As a grandfather and father looking at this, it’s pathetic. And we’re not going to allow it.”
Herman later tweeted a picture of the house and informed the public that forensic interviews with the 7-year-old would be conducted.
Deputies arrested the child’s mother, Rose Shengmei Colton, 38, and the mother’s husband, Richard Charles Colton, 71. Both were charged with child endangerment. Rose Colton received an additional charge of prostitution. Constable Herman said the two would face additional criminal charges.
The child is currently in foster care, following the involvement of Child Protective Services.
While both Coltons remained behind bars as of last Friday, Richard Colton had a bond hearing during which the judge upheld a restraining order preventing the 7-year-old from returning to their residence.
The judge also added conditions to Richard Colton’s $15,000 bond. He will be required to download software on his phone and laptop that will prohibit him from visiting websites where he and his wife were allegedly soliciting prostitution, per KPRC 2.
Rose Colton is being held on a $5,000 bond.
Spring is located just north of Houston, Texas.