A Pennsylvania couple faces charges after a 15-year-old boy was found to be malnourished and only weighing 53 pounds. NBC10’s Yukare Nakayama has the story.
Law enforcement officials in Lehigh County have arrested a couple from Lower Macungie after, police allege, they allowed a pair of twin teen boys to become malnourished and extremely underweight by refusing to give them food and forcing the boys to stand outside naked in freezing temperatures as a means of punishment.
According to police, the crimes came to the attention of law enforcement officials after one of the boys was found wandering while "nearly naked" along the 1200 block of Divot Drive in Lower Macungie Township on Jan. 22, 2025.
Officials said the boy told police that he was being forced to walk outside --while temperatures had dropped to single digits -- by his stepfather as a means of punishment.
At the time police officers arrived, officials said that the boy had been outside for about 20 minutes and "his feet were extremely red from the cold and snow."
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The officer that met the boy also noted that he seemed "very malnourished and extremely thin" at the time, officials said.
Also, neighbors in the area told the officer, according to police, that the boy had knocked on their door for help, and when brought inside, he "would not stop eating."
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Following this encounter, officials said, the police contacted the boy's parents, Joshua Dechant, 36, and Tracy Dechant, 42, where they also found the boy's twin brother.
According to officials, the twins told police that they were both subjected to "multiple types of abuse" at the home, including the denial of food and water, being forced to be naked in the home, being forced to walk naked outside the home in the cold and being forced to sleep on the floor together with only a single blanket for them to share.
Upon being taken to the hospital, officials said that the pair of 15-year-old boys only weighed 53 pounds and 55 pounds, respectively.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
Medical professionals said that at that age and height the boys should have weighed about 143 pounds, according to police.
Over the past eight years, medical records showed, the boys gained only 10 pounds, officials said.
Both boys have been hospitalized due to their medical conditions and, police said, other children in the Dechant home were taken into custody to be cared for by other members of the family.
Joshua and Tracy Dechant have been charged with endangering the welfare of children and they are both in custody at the Lehigh County Jail on $75,000 bail.
The pair are scheduled to be in court for preliminary hearings on Feb. 3, 2025.
According to online court records, both suspects are being represented by the Lehigh County Public Defenders Office though their specific legal representation is not listed.
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