WILDWOOD, NJ – A Wildwood couple has been charged with child neglect after police showed up at a residence for an unrelated child welfare check.
According to the Wildwood Police Department, on Tuesday, at approximately 2:45 P.M., members of the Wildwood Police Department Uniform Patrol Division, responded to a home located in the in connection to a report of a child endangerment investigation.
“Once on-scene, it was determined that members of the New Jersey State Police were investigating a separate and unrelated investigation concerning child endangerment,” the department said in a statement. “During the follow-up investigation, by the Wildwood Police Department Detective Division and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, it was determined that the living conditions of the residence were below an acceptable standard. Additionally, during the developing investigation, it was revealed that two-year-old and eight-year-old children were present and their physical condition was deplorable and unacceptable. The children were eventually transported to Cape Regional Medical Center, for evaluation by medical personnel.”
The Wildwood Police Department report revealed the children’s grandparents identified as Phyllis Jantti, 53, and Luvone Jantti, 57, were arrested in connection to the child endangerment investigation.
The were charged with child endangerment, the department said.
The Division of Child Protection & Permanency assumed temporary custody of the two small children identified during the contact. The D.C.P.& P. will be conducting an inquiry specific to the event, following their standard operating procedures.