Thompson, 41, was sentenced Wednesday to three years of probation for allowing her three children to live without running water in the squalid conditions of the Lower Saucon Township home.

Judge sentences Lower Saucon woman to probation after police discover three children living in home without water.

Thursday, February 08, 2007
By RUSS FLANAGAN The Express-Times EASTON |

There were some 20 trash bags piled near the porch and a "foul odor" emanating from Margaret Thompson's home when police arrived, according to court do*****ents. Inside, officers found a toilet nearly filled with feces and toilet paper and a 5- gallon bucket containing feces, toilet paper and "suspected urine" in a bathtub, records say.

Thompson, 41, was sentenced Wednesday to three years of probation for allowing her three children to live without running water in the squalid conditions of the Lower Saucon Township home. Records say police were called to the home Feb. 2, 2006, after neighbors complained about the trash building up outside the home in the 2000 block of Easton Road. When an officer approached Thompson about the smell she told him the home was "a little torn up right now," records say.

Police inspected and found a space heater resting on top of clothes on an end table and dirty clothes strewn throughout the house. Police found other hazards such as food on the floor, extension cords running along staircases and a large hole in the wall improperly patched with a board, records say. The kitchen was littered with dirty dishes and the home was infested with flies. Police said the door to the stove had been removed to heat the kitchen and the refrigerator was not cold enough to keep food from spoiling. The Hellertown Water Authority told police Thompson had her water shut off on Jan. 5 or 6, 2006, because of a plumbing problem but never made any repairs.

The township later declared the house uninhabitable and the family was forced to leave, records say. Thompson was charged with three counts of child endangerment and a summary offense. In exchange for her plea Wednesday to one count of child endangerment, the other charges were withdrawn. In addition to probation, Northampton County Judge Paula A. Roscioli ordered Thompson to have a mental health evaluation and a drug and alcohol evaluation, maintain full-time employment and take parenting classes.

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