Carla Nishikura was arrested and charged with three felony counts of child neglect without great bodily harm

A Florida mother has been charged after three children were found living in what authorities called “deplorable” conditions.

Carla Nishikura, 41, was arrested and charged with three felony counts of child neglect without great bodily harm, according to jail records and an arrest affidavit from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) obtained by PEOPLE.

Deputies responded to a home in Palm Coast, Fla., at around 8:40 a.m. on July 16 after receiving a welfare check call from a neighbor, who reported seeing a child outside the home without clothing, according to the arrest affidavit. The neighbor returned the child to the home before police arrived.

When deputies go to the scene, they made contact with Nishikura who told them that the child, who has been diagnosed as autistic and is non-verbal, and had escaped through the garage door while she was sleeping after she forgot to zip tie it closed.

At the home, deputies noticed a strong odor similar to fecal matter and they saw feces coated the floors, walls and the ceiling in the kitchen and living room, according to the arrest affidavit. The floor was also covered with fecal matter, cracked eggs and urine, deputies said.

In addition to this, investigators also found the electrical outlet covers were cracked, exposing the wiring in the home, which was “accessible” to the children.

Investigators noted that three children appeared to live there, and the child who was found outside the home was described as having been “naked and barefoot.” According to the affidavit, the children had been sleeping on a couch due to the conditions of the rooms,.

A case worker with the Department of Children and Families visited the home the previous day and reported “deplorable living conditions” in the home, deputies said.

Nishikura told deputies that she had been working with the Department of Children and Families, which set up a cleaning company to come to the home. However, the cleaning company declined to clean the home “due to the biohazard conditions,” the arrest affidavit claimed.

“One of the children reported they were instructed not to enter [REDACTED] bedroom due to the risk of exposure to the biohazard materials,” the affidavit said. “The child stated that the fecal matter in the room had been present for approximately one month and described it as ‘hard as a rock.’ ”

Nishikura told deputies that she was aware of the home’s condition but said she was unable to “manage her home and children on her own,” the arrest affidavit claimed.

Nishikura was booked into the Flagler County Jail on July 16 and later charged with the three felony counts. Her bond was listed at $2,500 per count, according to inmate records viewed by PEOPLE.

“Thank God for good neighbors who ‘Saw Something and Said Something,” said FCSO Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement to PEOPLE. “When a little girl was found naked in the street, the entire neighborhood dropped everything to help her. They went door to door and most importantly, picked up the phone and called us. It’s the only reason why these children are safe today.”

“What deputies found inside that home was sickening. No one, not even a dog, should spend one night living in those conditions,” he added.

Source: https://people.com/mother-charged-3-children-found-living-in-biohazard-conditions-florida-home-12023454