MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A Miami Beach couple was arrested on child neglect charges after police discovered their five children living in unsanitary conditions and left unsupervised, including a 6-year-old found crossing a busy street alone on New Year’s Eve, police said.
Miami Beach Police officers responded to a report of an unsupervised child along the 700 block of 15th Street, at around 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
Investigators said the child was reportedly found running across the high-traffic area and led officers to an apartment at 721 15th St.
Inside, police found four additional children, aged 12 and younger, in an apartment with no electricity, food or working toilet, according to the arrest report.
The report states that the children, who were dirty and hungry, told officers they had not eaten since the previous night and frequently went to bed hungry during school breaks.
According to the arrest report, the eldest child, who is 12, said she was responsible for her siblings while their parents worked. She described surviving on sporadic meals and shared that their father often told them, “You eat at school, so you don’t eat at home,” the report states.
The apartment lacked basic necessities, including toilet paper, clean clothing and functional utilities, the report states. Officers reportedly found the toilet filled with stagnant water and feces, as well as soiled rags littering the bathroom floor.
The parents, identified as 40-year-old Sanel Canovic and 33-year-old Azra Nikocevic, were arrested on felony child neglect charges.
The children were taken into protective custody while authorities investigate.
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