Sarasota couple arrested on child neglect charges

A Sarasota couple is facing one count of felony child neglect without great bodily harm following an anonymous tip to the Sarasota Police Department, which made the arrests on Sept. 11.

On Sept. 5, SPD officers responded with the Florida Department of Children and Families to a home on 24th Street for a welfare check on a 5-year-old, resulting in the arrest of Crystal Kates, 37, and Torrance Boles, 50.

Their relationship with the child was not disclosed.

According to the SPD, when child protection investigators and police officers arrived, Kates and Boles were located under a tent drinking beer. Inside the home, investigators found the child alone in a room with a baby gate blocking the door. The child’s hair was matted with debris and food, and she was wearing a heavily soiled pull-up diaper that was nearly torn from the weight. 

The child was unable to speak.

Investigators reported finding a dirty twin mattress and a box spring on the floor topped by a torn, dirty sheet. There were no blankets or pillows, and a dresser in the middle of the floor was empty. There were no clothes in the closet.

Tested for narcotics at the scene, the pair tested positive for THC, cocaine and alcohol. Kates initially told investigators the home was in disarray because they had just moved in, but later admitted they had lived there for 10 years.

Department of Children and Families determined the conditions of the home and the child were severe enough to remove her and place her with a family member in Manatee County. She was determined to be a victim of medical neglect, and their findings were consistent with allegations of abuse.

Bond was set for Kates at $30,000 and Boles at $40,000. Kates was ordered to undergo random drug and alcohol testing and have no contact with either the victim or with Boles, who was ordered to undergo drug and alcohol testing twice weekly and to have no contact with the victim or any other children.

As of Monday morning, both remained in custody at the Sarasota County Jail. The case remains under investigation by the Sarasota Police Department in coordination with Florida DCF. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call Detective Angela Cox at 941-263-6075.