The residence in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where authorities say the defendant and victim lived (Google Maps).
A mother in Pennsylvania is accused of allowing her 7-year-old daughter's teeth to decay so badly that the girl could not eat solid food or live without pain.
Maria Lopez-Paz, 39, has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, Lackawanna County court records reviewed by Law&Crime show. She was booked into the Lackawanna County Prison on $200,000 bail.
On Sept. 10, the Scranton Police Department responded to a home on Wheeler Ave. after receiving a report of a child not being fed, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Scranton Times Tribune.
A case manager with the Lackawanna County Office of Youth and Family Services had reported that the girl wasn't attending school because she wasn't vaccinated. Police then went to interview and medically assess the child.
The 7-year-old girl told police that she was in pain all day and only felt OK when she slept, according to the criminal complaint. She said there were rats, cockroaches, and other bugs inside their home and that when she was hungry, she drank milk.
The county Office of Youth and Family Services assumed custody of the child.
Four days after police arrived at the home, caseworkers brought the girl to a dental center, the newspaper reported. Staff found 10 cavities and large areas of decay, and the girl needed multiple procedures.
The child reportedly had never had any dental care and had not seen a doctor since 2024, when her family moved to Pennsylvania.
Court records show Lopez-Paz was scheduled to have a preliminary arraignment on Tuesday and then a preliminary hearing on Oct. 14.
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