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Malnourished girl, 3, taken by Children & Youth in Schuylkill, parents charged

A 3-year-old girl was taken from her parents by Schuylkill County Children and Youth, police said.

State police at Schuylkill Haven say the child was “malnourished to the point of requiring emergency medical care to prevent serious bodily injury or death.”

The child was also found to have been suffering from “extreme dental decay of her teeth due to a poor diet,” police said.

She was “covered in insect bites from bedbugs” and had an extreme infestation of lice.

Police responded to a home on Main Street in Mount Carbon after receiving information via ChildLine about allegations of child endangerment, according to police.

Charges were filed Dec. 23 and arrest warrants were issued for Ryan Sonnon, 32, and Abigail Sonnon, 30, addresses not provided, for two felony counts of endangering the welfare of children and one count of endangering another person, a misdemeanor.

Police did not say when the child was removed from the home, except that the investigation was between January and December. They were arrested on Christmas Eve in Mahanoy City and arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Stephen Bayer. Bail for Ryan Sonnon was set at $10,000 straight cash. Abigail Sonnon’s bail is 10% of $10,000.

Both are in the Schuylkill County Prison.

Preliminary hearings are set for 10 a.m. Jan. 3 in Magisterial District Court James Reiley’s courtroom, Pottsville.

Howard Merrick, owner of the property, said a constable escorted all three from the property in June.

He said there was damage to the property after going inside to inspect it because he wanted to list it for sale.

Court documents show a recovery of real property hearing June 15 in Magisterial District Judge James Reiley’s office after Merrick filed a claim for $1,800 in back rent against Abigail Sonnon. The order for possession was successfully served July 6, documents show.

Merrick said he called Children and Youth in November 2020 and three or so times after that.

“We didn’t know what was going on there. There was fighting, crying,” he said.

Merrick said he was “concerned for the child.”

The agency didn’t return any of his calls, he said, but he did see people visit the home, although the does not know if they were with the agency.

He said he also called the state police, who came several times.

Abigail Sonnon
Ryan Sonnon