ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Two St. Johns County parents were arrested Thursday after police say their 13-year-old child was injured, bedridden, and found surrounded by feces and urine.
According to officials, St. Johns County Fire and Rescue responded to a call from a home on Usina Road Extension in St. Augustine, where Darcy and Joseph Sargent live.
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The call came Thursday morning before 9 a.m. by Darcy, the mother.
The parents now face charges of child neglect with great bodily harm and remain in the St. Johns County Detention Center.
Action News Jax Reporter Kennedy Dendy spoke with St. Johns County Sheriff Robert A. Hardwick.
“The mother actually made the call because the boy was in such pain yesterday,” Hardwick said. “Even in some of the reports was that when the boy was touched by medical staff, he was screaming in pain.”
Hardwick said there is no evidence to verify that the child had broken bones, but shared that the child was malnourished and his body was breaking down. He was transported to the hospital for medical treatment.
“The boy actually said that he only had a sugar doughnut or a covered doughnut over the last few days,” Hardwick said.
Officials told Action News Jax that there was an older brother with mental challenges who was responsible for making sure the 13-year-old was fed.
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This isn’t the first time Darcy and Joseph Sargent have appeared in court for a case involving one of their children.
Court records point to an extensive amount of school missed by a child in their home, dating back years. At one point, a child had 51 absences out of 60 school days between March 10, 2021 and June 10, 2021 — as well as another period of missed school between Sept. 21, 2015 and Feb. 10, 2016.
Court documents show the parents had entered into a pretrial diversion program, avoiding prosecution.
Action News Jax Law and Safety Expert Dale Carson weighed in.
“Typically in these cases, we’ll find that the child has been abused for some time,” Carson said. “It’s not unusual to look back on the record and find other examples of neglect. For example, missing school — those kinds of things that send up a red flag and tell you that something’s going on in that child’s life that people from the Department of Children and Family Services need to look into.”
Action News Jax’s Kennedy Dendy asked Sheriff Hardwick about the response to the home over the years.
“As far as law enforcement incidents go, we don’t have a long track record there,” Hardwick said. “We are trying to verify some previous DCF, or Department of Children and Family, reports.”
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Hardwick said to contact your local law enforcement if you notice signs of child neglect or abuse.
“We take these crimes very seriously, like any other crime that we work here in St. Johns County,” Hardwick said. “These are the crimes that we just don’t want to get. We don’t want to see it, and then it breaks your heart when the little boy just wants to go home to see (their) parents.”
Officials say the Department of Children and Families has been notified, and a safety plan and placement has been made.
Darcy and Joseph Sargent had their first court appearance Thursday morning, but remain in St. Johns County Detention Center.