newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

A couple who had been evicted from their Howell Township home allegedly left two of their three children behind when they moved.

The Howell Police Department said that a neighbor who had been caring for the children for three weeks, contacted the Division of Youth and Family Services, and there had already been an open case file on the family, according to Howell Patch.

The couple had moved to Freehold after being evicted, and took their 18-month old baby with them. The Asbury Park Press reported that the two children left behind were ages 8 and 10.

According to an Associated Press report on njherald.com, the children's father, 31-year-old Carlos Ribot, and their stepmother, 29-year-old Sonia Dircio-Abarca were arrested by Howell police on Tuesday.

"They were extremely malnourished, very small for their ages," said Detective Sgt. Eileen Dodd. "There was difficulty with the way their feet grew because they were shoved into shoes that were too small. They had scars and marks on them."

Ribot is facing charges of endangering the welfare of a child, and is in the Monmouth County Correctional Institute with bail set at $75,000. Dircio-Abarca is not a U.S. citizen, and has been charged with wrongful impersonation for using another person’s Social Security number. Her bail is $3,000.