Child neglect case reveals 'deplorable' conditions; 4 arrested

"During the execution of the search warrant, investigators found the home appeared generally dirty, disheveled, windows covered or boarded, and what appeared to be human and animal feces spread about,"
--- ISP Sgt. Joe Watts 

ISP Photo

VERMILLION COUNTY- Several people were arrested today following a nearly two-week long child neglect investigation in Clinton.

Indiana State Police and the Clinton Police arrested the following four family members of 604 Vine Street, Clinton:    

John Paul Woolley, 31; Danielle Elizabeth Woolley, 31; Gordon M. Woolley, 57; and Barbara Jo Woolley, 52. The suspects were booked into the Vermillion County Jail on Vermillion County Circuit Court arrest warrants charging each of the suspects with the same four Level 3 felony counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury.

ISP Sgt. Joe Watts explained this afternoon that allegations involving the mistreatment of four small children led to the investigation and arrests.

---

Investigation began Oct. 19, when Clinton Police assisted the Indiana Department of Child Services in following up on an anonymous tip concerning the small children.

"Police and DCS workers immediately noticed four small children, an eight-year- old male, a five-year-old female, a four-year-old male, and a two-year-old male, all appeared to be malnourished, unclean, and in need of possible medical attention" Watts said, adding, "The children were removed from the home and taken to Union Hospital of Clinton for initial treatment and later transferred to Riley’s Children Hospital in Indianapolis." 

On October 22, Indiana State Police Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators served a Vermillion County Circuit Court Search Warrant for the Vine Street home.

"During the execution of the search warrant, investigators found the home appeared generally dirty, disheveled, windows covered or boarded, and what appeared to be human and animal feces spread about," Watts said.

John Paul and Danielle Woolley are the parents of the four children. Gordon Woolley and Barbara Jo Woolley are the mother and father of John Paul Woolley and his 29-year-old special needs brother, and the grandparents of the four children.

After being released from medical care, the children were placed in the custody of foster parents. The special needs adult male is in the care of Adult Protective Services.

​The family has reportedly lived in the home for nearly two years and the children are believed to have received little or no routine medical care or education, he said.

The Parke-Vermillion Humane Society removed numerous felines  from the home.

The lead investigator was ISP Detective Don Anglin. Assisting were ISP Detective Angie Hahn and ISP Crime Scene Investigator Sergeant Jim Cody, numerous Putnamville District troopers, Clinton Police Chief Billy MacLaren and Patrolman Justin Nelson, Vermillion County Prosecutor’s Office, Vermillion County Prosecutor’s Office Investigator Basil Ave, Vermillion County EMS, Parke and Vermillion Humane Society, and the Vermillion County Health Department.

​