A Lehigh Township couple has been charged with endangering the welfare of their child following a lengthy investigation into their daughter’s medical neglect.

Kenneth and Rebecca Kemp came under scrutiny after their daughter, who suffers from anorexia and depression, was repeatedly hospitalized but denied recommended inpatient care.

The case was referred to the Northampton County Investigating Grand Jury, which issued a presentment against Rebecca Kemp in August.

The girl was first admitted to Lehigh Valley Health Network in November 2023 for malnutrition and self-harm wounds. She returned in January 2024, was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, and transferred to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in King of Prussia.

Doctors recommended specialized inpatient treatment at Eating Recovery Center in Baltimore, but her parents refused, insisting she remain at CHOP.

Refusal for program

Due to the parents’ continued refusal to approve of an inpatient facility, the staff at CHOP notified Northampton County Children and Youth about the situation, citing abandonment by the parents.

Northampton County CYS did a home visit and ultimately approved the Kemp home for the victim’s return.

Because insurance would not cover an extended stay, the teen was discharged home in February 2024 against medical advice, still requiring an NG feeding tube.

While at home, the victim was brought by her mother, Rebecca, to her primary care physician six times between Feb. 26 and April 16 of 2024. At her appointment on Feb. 19, the girl weighed 115 pounds, at her appointment a week later, she weighed 114 pounds.

Her last weight was taken on March 5, at which point she weighed 111 pounds. Court papers do not indicate her height or age.

After that, Rebecca Kemp reported that the teen would not go to the doctor’s appointment if her weight was taken, and the doctor recommended that they not weigh her for two weeks. At her April 3 appointment, the doctor was concerned that the girl was not showing any signs of improvement in her eating disorder or her mental health.

Rebecca Kemp reported the victim had not been taking any food from her feeding tube after her return from the hospital, but insisted that the girl was eating food by mouth at home.

The doctor advised Rebecca that she should seek inpatient treatment for the girl as her condition had not improved, but Rebecca refused.

The girl’s final appointment with her doctor was on April 16. Rebecca reported that the girl had stopped seeing a psychiatrist because the victim would not speak during the sessions and she did not see any point. Rebecca also indicated that the victim was no longer taking her antidepressant medication.

Again, the doctor advised Rebecca to seek inpatient treatment for the girl, but Rebecca again insisted that she disagreed with the recommendation.

Despite repeated warnings from her doctor, court documents say Rebecca Kemp declined further inpatient treatment and ended psychiatric care.

By fall 2024, the girl’s condition worsened. She became selectively mute, stopped taking medication, and by late November weighed just 65 pounds.

The girl did not seek medical treatment again until November of 2024.

In the interim, Rebecca stated that the girl was eating at home and things were “normal.”

She said she did not see any change in the girl’s weight or mood until around September 2024, at which time Rebecca reported that the girl was “eating less.”

Malnourished

Rebecca said that the last day the girl spoke to her family was Oct. 31, 2024. After that, the victim was mute and would only communicate with hand signs and through typing on her iPad.

On Nov. 28, the Kemps called 911 and the girl was taken to St. Luke’s Bethlehem where she was admitted to Pediatric ICU for severe malnourishment.

At that time, she weighed 65 pounds. She had lost about 46 pounds in 8 months and her BMI was less than 1% of the recommended BMI for a girl her age.

She also was presented with metabolic energy crisis with hypothermia, hypoglycemia, sinus bradycardia, secondary amenorrhea, leukopenia, and age advanced brain parenchymal volume loss. Additionally, she had multiple new and old self-harm cuts on her arms and legs, and was treated for all these conditions.

Doctors again sought inpatient placement, this time in Denver, but court papers say the Kemps refused consent. Northampton County Children and Youth Services obtained custody in January 2025 so she could receive treatment.

A CHOP social worker testified that the girl appeared visibly emaciated compared to the previous year and was still suicidal. Despite this, her parents continued to resist inpatient care.

The decision was made by CYS to obtain custody so that the victim could receive the lifesaving care she needed at ERC in Denver. Custody was obtained by CYS on Jan. 2, and the girl was taken to Denver on Jan. 6 to enter inpatient treatment, but was ultimately denied admittance due to the severity of her condition.

Due to her denied admittance in Denver on Jan. 10, the girl returned to CHOP King of Prussia to receive further treatment until a suitable facility could be found for her. She was ultimately transferred to a Virginia facility in February.

The girl’s social worker who has seen the victim both in 2024 and this year admissions at CHOP, testified that her physical appearance this year was “striking” compared to her 2024 admission.

She described the girl as visibly emaciated, and also felt that her mental health had clearly deteriorated which was characterized by the multiple self-harm wounds and her selective mutism which continued while she was at CHOP this year.

The social worker reported that the girl was having a “significant emotional reaction” when CHOP staff attempted to take the victim into the shower and would only allow sponge baths. Rebecca reported that the girl had no issues when showering at home.

Kenneth and Rebecca Kemp are being held in Northampton County Prison on $75,000 bail each. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 19 before District Judge Robert A. Hawke in Walnutport.