Parents face misdemeanor charges for filthy apartment

Michael Page (Dover Police photo)

DOVER - A Dover couple have been arrested on child endangerment charges after police say one of them allowed their 2-year-old son to wander their apartment complex alone while both were charged on counts alleging their residence was so filthy and in such disarray it put both children at substantial risk.

The investigation by police began on July 20 when officers from the Dover Police Department responded to an apartment at 10 Addison Place where DCYF workers had gone after receiving a report that a 2-year-old had been discovered wandering around the apartment complex with no adult supervision.

The responding police officer learned that Michael Page, 20, the child's father, had been responsible for watching the 2-year-old. The responding officers also discovered the apartment was in such a state of filth and disarray that the 2- and 4-year-old children of Sarah Hutchins and Page were in danger.

Detectives from the Dover Police Department obtained arrest warrants for Page and Hutchins. Page was charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a Class A misdemeanor. One count was a result of allowing the toddler to wander unsupervised, while the other was as a result of the state of the apartment.

Page was arrested on July 28 at the Strafford House of Correction where he was being held on other charges.

Hutchins was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a Class A misdemeanor, as a result of the state of the apartment. She turned herself in without incident on Wednesday.

Both Hutchins and Page were released on personal recognizance bail. They are both scheduled for arraignment in the Seventh Circuit Court, Dover District, in November.

Meanwhile, provisions have been put in place to ensure the children's continued safety.