Ruff family cleared of all charges
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| Couple had been accused of child endangerment |
September 27. 2006 8:00AM
judge has dismissed all charges against a Warner couple accused of living in a home so squalid it endangered their children. Merrimack Superior Court Judge Kenneth McHugh found that the search warrant used to gather evidence in the home of Bryon and Wendy Ruff had been improperly granted. Last night, Wendy Ruff, who has long challenged the town's unannounced search of her house, said she felt vindicated by the ruling.
A 'deplorable' home
When the police and other town officials searched the house in August 2005, they found conditions that the health officer, Charles Durgin, described as "deplorable." Rotting food and animal waste littered the floors, while loose insulation sagged from unfinished walls. Durgin condemned the house and ordered the Ruffs and their five children to clean it, which they did.
The state veterinarian, who assisted town officials, found the living conditions of the Ruffs' 57 animals to be unfit, and he ordered their seizure. A district court ruling granted permanent custody of those pets - including goats, pigs, ducks, chickens, geese, rabbits, dogs and cats - to the state this winter.
The parents were charged with criminal child endangerment two weeks later. If they had been convicted, they would have each faced up to five years in jail and $10,000 in fines. Sgt. Scott Leppard of the Warner police department said in court that the police had only come to provide security for Durgin, but when officers saw the conditions inside the house, they felt that a crime had been committed. ...go here to read more of story.http://tinyurl. com/rqlra
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