Law&Crime Sidebar - Nurse Arrested After Her Special Needs Son Was Found Wandering in 'Unsanitary State': Cops

Episode Date: May 25, 2024

Heather Schrock, 32, was arrested in Warsaw, Illinois when police say her son wandered around their neighborhood before being spotted by a concerned Good Samaritan. Law enforcement says they located Schrock at her job and took her into custody. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber breaks down what the police accuse her of, and why there haven’t been any charges filed yet, with former prosecutor turned defense attorney Sarena Townsend.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW:If you’ve used Incognito mode in Google’s Chrome browser, find out if you have a claim in a few clicks by visiting https://www.incognitoclaims.com/sidebar/?v=sb6HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael DeiningerScript Writing & Producing - Savannah WilliamsonGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. A young boy with special needs is found wandering around on his own. His mom, nowhere to be seen. When police finally found her, they immediately placed her under arrest. We're digging into this case and potential criminal charges with former prosecutor turned criminal defense attorney Serena Townsend. Welcome to Sidebar. Presented by Law and Crime, I'm Jesse Weber. Everybody, this is a law and crime legal alert.

Google Incognito tracked users browsing data without their knowledge. Yep, while Mass Tort Alliance, one of our legal sponsors, is actually helping users file for compensation due to Google users' privacy issues surrounding Google Incognito. So if you've used Google Incognito any time since 2016, you can start your claim in less than 10 questions at Incognito Claims.com slash sidebar. An Illinois mom of three has been arrested and released in Hancock County after an incident on May 14. According to the Sheriff's Department, they got a report of a little boy with special needs wandering around a neighborhood in Warsaw, Illinois, which is near the state lines from Missouri and Iowa. So on May 14th, around 7 p.m., a neighbor spotted this boy trying to get a little bit. get into another neighbor's home, stopped to help. The person reported that the boy was in a, quote, unsanitary state.

Deputies took the boy into protective custody. They took him home. And the deputies have reportedly had dealings with this family before, but the boy's mother, 32-year-old Heather Schrock, wasn't there. So law enforcement, they called in the Department of Children and Family Services. They took a look at the home and declared it was unsuitable for children to resign in. And deputies say they then found Shrock at her job on her social media profiles. Shrock often takes selfies and a pair of scrubs.

She reportedly worked for a local hospital. So the deputies arrested Shrock on charges of child endangerment and child abandonment. She was booked into Hancock County Jail, released the following day. Now, we reached out to the county clerk for Hancock County, and they don't have any pending cases involving Shrock. So it seems like she might have been arrested, but she may not have been officially charged yet. Okay, now I want to break this down, and I want to bring in attorney Serena Towns and former sex crimes prosecutor. Great to have you here, Serena.

Thank you. We talk, unfortunately, about these cases involving children. What are your thoughts on first the idea of the current legal status as we're talking about it? Does it seem like she was arrested and not charged yet or the case was dropped? What do you think? Well, it's possible that they charged her with something low level enough that they've given her what commonly is known of as a desk. appearance ticket or something like that, which basically means they're not going to keep her in jail pending this process. And instead, they're going to send her away and say, come back another time

to face these charges. And in those situations, the clerk's office really will not have a record yet of the case until she does come back. What do you make of abandonment cases like this? The boy just wandering around, she was apparently at work. Why do we see these abandonment cases like this or alleged abandonment cases? Sure. It's really, it's really sad. especially in a case where this is a child with special needs. I mean, we don't use that term special needs lightly. He needed special treatment or care in order to take care of him. What's equally, if not more offensive, is the fact that she is in health care.

And one would think or hope that somebody who has that kind of job would know better, would know how to take care of their child, would keep that child sanitary, keep the home safe. And so it's really appalling to hear these charges, if true. course. Do you ever hear the defense of, you know, I just, my mind was blank. I left my child in the car. I left my child at home. I left my child in the store. I wasn't thinking it was a complete accident. Do we see those kind of defenses in this? And do they ever were? Sure, we do. It does happen a lot of times, as you mentioned, in the, I forgot my child or baby in a car. Those are just

such heartbreaking stories because I think we've learned that it does actually happen, sadly, sometimes. But I think the most important thing is everybody involved in this case on the law enforcement side and the prosecution, they're going to have to look at the facts and the evidence that come about. I mean, does she normally have child care for this child? And, you know, maybe that person didn't show up. Did she have plans that fell through? I mean, it does feel, though, like a cumulative problem. If the house itself is unsanitary, if the child has feces on him or other unsanitary features, it's, it doesn't feel like a one day mistake. This feels like a perpetual problem. And that's going to be taken into consideration when the evidence is evaluated. That's what you took away from unsanitary state and also the condition of the

house. Pretty much. You know, when we have cases like this, oftentimes, yes, when a child is described in that way, you know, sometimes they've defecated on themselves and their diaper hasn't been changed in quite some time or their hair is matted. It's really tragic. It's really sad. And then a home that's unsuitable for living in as a child. I mean, usually that means that the refrigerator is not stocked. There might be, you know, animals in the house, like pets that are not taken care of and their feces are away. I mean, I'm speculating at this point, but for the most part, it means that the food situation may not be good and the cleanliness of the house is probably a factor as well. If police were familiar with this family, I don't know what that could mean, but does it mean that

police should have been kept keeping a closer eye on what was going on there? These things are so difficult because you do, you know, you have those home visits. Law enforcement will do wellness checks sometimes or child protective services are supposed to be up on these things. But, you know, a lot of times these cases slip through the cracks, especially you have a woman who's in the health care profession. Who knows if she was able to convince, you know, law enforcement that everything is actually fine.

Yeah, I mean, if this woman or this family was known to police, then. And it is possible that there should have been more wellness checks or that something more should have happened in order to prevent this event from occurring. Let's talk about the charges for a minute. So I look them up. This is my understanding of what endangerment is defined as under Illinois law, a person commits endangering the life or health of a child when he or she knowingly causes or permits the life or health of a child under the age of 18 to be endangered or causes or permits a child to be placed in circumstances that endanger the child's life. for health. By the way, special needs children are considered as part of this definition, too. There's a little carve out there. I believe this is a misdemeanor, though, and correct me if I'm wrong. But, and then abandonment is when a person commits child abandonment, when he or she

as a parent, guardian, or other person having physical custody or control of a child without regard for the mental or physical health, safety, or welfare of that child, knowingly permits a child to engage in independent activities that were unreasonable under the circumstances or for an or for an unreasonable period of time without regard for the minor's mental or physical health, safety, or well-being, for the purposes of this section, no specific age shall be determinative of reasonableness. I believe that is a felony that can carry three years in prison. Am I right about those so far? Is my definition's correct? Yeah. Yes. And the abandonment seems more serious than the endangerment, right? That's right. And I mean, even the term abandonment feels more

dangerous, right? I mean, it almost feels like a permanent situation where this child is going to have to fend for themselves, which is horrific. The child endangerment charge, which, yes, it is a misdemeanor, it's going to turn like the other charge on knowingly. Did she knowingly put this child in this position? And the only way that you're going to be able to figure that out, a jury, a judge, is going to be able to figure that out is through all of the evidence. I mean, especially with respect to the abandonment charge, how long do you have to have that child in that situation for it to be considered abandonment? How long did that child have to be, quote, unquote, independent and not taken care of for them to have been abandoned? It's a little bit more difficult to prove

that charge. It's easier to prove that this child was in danger. He was wandering the streets. You know, that's just dangerous in and of itself. The Hancock County Sheriff's Department posted Shrock's mugshot, as well as a press release about what had happened on their Facebook page, Justin Philip shares at least one child with Shrock. He commented on the post saying, in part, quote, My son told me this morning that kids have already mentioned it, that they were telling him, sorry for his mom being all over the internet. The kids in that area from what I have heard are sweet.

But if your kid goes to Warsaw and they've seen it on Facebook or know about it, please have a talk with your kids and ask them to not mention it right now. He is only 11, and I don't have the words to describe everything yet. He knows some of what has happened, but not the extent. I just want him to enjoy his last week of school. How heartbreaking is that? It's horrible. It really is.

In today's day and age with social media and, you know, you just have people talking. It's hard enough to be in a small neighborhood and the gossip that goes around the neighborhood. Now this thing is broadcast everywhere. And it's not just the person who's arrested who suffers. It's the victim who suffers. It's the other family members. But it also is an interesting law enforcement tool because when you do see people commenting on social media, you know, it's a way for police to figure out who may have witnessed the conditions of this home and the family conditions.

And it might lead them to, you know, be able to enhance their investigation a little bit. Wow. I'm just happy the child is safe. Obviously, we don't know what the effects of all this are going to be. But this could have ended up a lot, a lot worse, a lot worse. Serena Townsend, thanks so much for coming on. Appreciate it as always. Thanks. All right, everybody. That's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar. Thank you so much for joining us. As always, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time.