JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 A man and a woman from Mixon Town were arrested on Saturday after a nurse alerted the Department of Children and Families of the condition of a child brought into the emergency room.<\/p>\n
Police reports state that when officers arrived at the home of Anthony Jones, 37, and Erica Bryant, 33, they discovered four extremely thin children.<\/p>\n
Upon receiving medical care, doctors at Wolfson\u2019s Children Hospital noted that all five were severely underweight for their age, and a couple were malnourished.<\/p>\n
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n The ages of the victims are not yet known, but their weights ranged from 44 to 75 pounds.<\/p>\n One responding officer noted that he could clearly see one child\u2019s bony prominence.<\/p>\n Doctors at Wolfson\u2019s also noted that several of the children had cuts and bruising, including on one child\u2019s left ankle and another child\u2019s left wrist.<\/p>\n The police reports state that none of the children had eaten yet that day when officers responded at nearly 10 p.m.<\/p>\n During the investigation, those same reports state that the kitchen was fully stocked with nutritious food, including deli meat, bread and frozen food.<\/p>\n When investigators asked why the children were malnourished, police say that Jones could not provide a reason, and Bryant said that Jones was supposed to be responsible for the cooking.<\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n Lynn Wadelton, a child psychologist for more than 30 years, says a child experiencing this type of neglect can take a lifetime to recover.<\/p>\n \u201cEmotionally, when you\u2019re not nurtured and fed, there are extreme anxiety, trauma, depression, severe mood changes, and a long-term problem connecting and trusting others,\u201d Wadelton said. \u201cEventually, they\u2019ll try to relearn and recreate the story of how this happened to them and what it means about them and what it means about the world and what it means about love and safety.\u201d<\/p>\n We asked Wadelton what it would take for one of these children to learn how to trust again.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t always, and that\u2019s something that is a sad fact,\u201d Wadelton said. \u201cDespite how much love you pour in, they don\u2019t always adapt.\u201d<\/p>\n She says her advice to anyone viewing the story is to check in on neighbors and family members if you feel you haven\u2019t seen them in a while.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re a neighbor and you don\u2019t notice kids going to school, or you see something that concerns you, you can request a wellness check,\u201d Wadelton said. \u201cA lot of times, though, this is very well hidden.\u201d<\/p>\n [SIGN UP: <\/b>Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/b><\/a>] <\/b><\/p>\n She says normally situations like this stem from the parents themselves having experienced extreme abuse or substance abuse.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first thing that comes to my mind, and probably to most of your viewers\u2019 minds, is how shocking this is, and how can this happen, because the instinct that humans and animals have to nurture and feed their child is such a strong instinct,\u201d Wadelton said. \u201cSo, something had to go horribly, horribly wrong for this kind of event to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones and Bryant are both being held on a $125,000 bond.<\/p>\n Click here<\/b><\/a> to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to stream Action News Jax live.<\/b><\/p>\n Action News Jax Top Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 A man and a woman from Mixon Town were arrested on Saturday after a 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