NORTHERN CAMBRIA, Pa. -- A Cambria County woman, her boyfriend and her brother have been arrested and charged with endangering her three young children. Police said the children, ages 10 and 5, were hit repeatedly, locked in closets and forced to relieve themselves on the floor.
Jenna Mulhern, her boyfriend, Matthew D'auria, and her brother, Derek Parenti, are in jail facing several felony charges, accused of endangering Mulhern's two young children. Police say the allegations surfaced during an investigation by Children and Youth Services at Mulhern's Northern Cambria Apartment.
According to court documents, when interviewed Mulhern said she had the right to discipline her children and that she had given D'Auria and Parenti permission to do the same because she said the children were out of control and would only listen after being punished.
D'auria allegedly added that he disciplined the children because that's how he was raised.
"She's a good parent. She knows what she's doing," said a neighbor at the Bigler Street apartment. "Matt was a good parent too."
Neighbors didn't want to be identified Thursday but told 6 News the charges didn't add up.
"It is definitely a misunderstanding, like it was strictly just discipline," said the neighbor. "Like smack on the butt, that happens Kids need that. I was given that All my friends were given that."
But according to court documents, the children received more than just discipline. Documents said when interviewed separately, they both told the same stories of abuse from allegedly being hit with wooden a paddle and belt repeatedly, to the adults spitting in their faces and calling them names, locking them in closets for long periods of time, even allegedly forcing them to urinate on the floor.
"It's all lies, fabrications That's all I have to say about it," said the neighbor.
Neighbors don't believe the children's allegations but when they were removed by CYS in September, authorities said they were happy to leave and didn't even look back to say goodbye. And according to documents Mulhern yelled after them, "you finally got what you wanted."
Authorities said there were no bruises on the children when they were checked but officers said they did find evidence inside the apartment that matched the children's allegations including a belt and a broken wooden paddle. They said the children were covered in flea bites.
Mulhern, Parenti and D'Auria are in the Cambria County Prison on $50,000 bail.
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