Mother Sentenced to Prison After Rescuing 16-Pound, Neglected 3-Year-Old From Filthy, Infested Home
Police rescued a 16-pound, nearly starving 3-year-old girl from an apartment that was covered in feces and bugs. The mother will spend years in jail for this crime.
A news statement from the Greene County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said that 26-year-old Rabyah Muballigh was given a sentence of 7 to 10 1/2 years on Thursday for abusing her daughter in a very bad way. Online court records show that Muballigh pleaded not guilty to charges of felony abuse and putting children in danger.
During his 20-year career as a prosecutor in Greene County, David D. Hayes said it was the worst case of child abuse he had ever seen.
In the news release, he said, “Muballigh is going to prison for a few years, as she should.” “Her main duty was to take care of that child, but she didn’t, and the child was seriously hurt as a result.”
Prosecutors said Muballigh had only taken her child to the doctor once. In court, she said she has prayed for her daughter every night for the past six months, according to Dayton CBS affiliate WHIO.
The woman told the station, “I should have gotten help sooner so she wouldn’t have been hurt the way she was.” “I gave up pretty much.” I stopped eating, taking showers, and getting out of bed. It wasn’t enough that I only got up to feed her that one time. “I needed to do more.”
Lucas Wilder, her lawyer, told the Dayton Daily News in June that she had a hard childhood, was depressed, had given up another daughter for adoption, and had given birth to a stillborn baby before her toddler was found.
“Rabyah was having severe mental health problems at the time she failed to do her job, which is not an excuse for her inaction,” Wilder told the newspaper.
Prosecutors said that the actual father, Corey Michael Moody, 29, was charged on July 17 with endangering children, obstructing justice, and tampering with evidence. This news came at the same time. He is in jail and his bail is set at $100,000. His court date is October 7.
The case was made public on January 8. Prosecutors say Muballigh called 911 under a fake name and told them a girl between the ages of 2 and 3 was having trouble breathing.
Law&Crime wrote about the girl’s dramatic rescue, which was caught on camera by the body cameras of officers from the Fairborn Police Department. The video was taken at Muballigh’s ground-floor apartment in the 300 block of Wallace Drive, about 60 miles northeast of Cincinnati, at about 1 p.m. that same day.
Footage shows that the house is full of trash and food that has been thrown away. A number of sticky-paper fly traps that are almost fully covered with dead flies can be seen. In some rooms, trash seems to be piled up almost six feet high.
One of the police officers can be heard saying, “Oh my God,” before they even find the girl.
When police opened the door to her room, they saw the child (who can’t be seen in the video) lying in a corner, thin and covered in bug bites. Attorneys for the state said she was only wearing a white diaper.
She was lying on the ground next to a mattress that was wet and smelly with poop and pee. There are what look like roach bugs on the walls and floors.
At first, the police seem to think the child is dead, but when they hear her gasping for air, they are relieved to hear that she is still living.
As the police check on the victim, they pull blankets off the walls that are blocking the windows to let in more light.
The girl was taken to the hospital and stayed there for a few weeks before being let go. The Dayton Daily News said she is with her sister’s adopted family.
Also at the house at the time, Muballigh. Police quickly found out that she called 911 and gave a fake name to the operator. She was caught and jailed. The police video shows her beginning to cry before the officer leaves the house.