School Teacher Horrified By Find In Boy’s Hair, Then Sees What’s Hanging Off Him

A Florida couple was arrested and charged after a young boy they were caring for was found with bed bugs in both his hair and his school lunch.

Helena and James Jones, of Panama City Beach, were arrested and charged with child neglect after the 6-year-old boy, who weighed just 37 pounds, came to school with bed bugs in his hair and lunch. The boy was apparently not potty-trained, and authorities learned that he often came to school wearing dirty diapers.

The boy, police said, was also believed to be overly medicated and not able to walk or stand properly as a result, AL.com reported.

“Not just the fact that he is extremely underweight, but there is concern that he is being overmedicated so defendants can more easily supervise him,” deputies wrote in a police report. “The overmedication is contributing to his health issues and is keeping him from learning at school.”

The couple’s home was previously condemned due to an infestation of bed bugs — with bugs being found in the bed where the child slept. The boy’s sheets were stained with blood from the bed bug bites, and he also reportedly defecated blood due to the medication he was being given.

The couple allegedly moved back into the house after it was condemned.

Many readers placed blame on the school for not reporting the neglect earlier.

“The school should have reported the boy’s condition when they 1st noticed instead if waiting. The parents need to be banned from contact with their child & any other children . Neuter & spray the parents,” one Mad World News reader commented on the site’s Facebook page.

“School personnel are mandated reporters! #1 You can’t get into trouble for reporting a suspected case of abuse. #2 Those who are afraid to give their name don’t have to. I can’t understand why this was allowed to go on. If the child was on meds, didn’t the medical personnel report this when he was seen by them in order to get prescriptions? This infuriates me and there is zero excuse for this,” another wrote.

“So sad I hate to ask this but how did the child get too school if by school bus the driver should have reported too there boss and too the school ……I just hope this child can be saved from this hell and his folks go too jail for years too come,” another added.

Sources: News Herald via AL.com, Mad World News/Facebook / Featured Image: dogulove/Flickr / Embedded Images: AL.com, Chris Yarzab/Wikimedia Commons