3 Marietta parents charged after 15 children were found living in ‘deplorable’ conditions

Fifteen children, ranging in age from 1 to 17, were found living with three adults in a two-bedroom Marietta apartment last week after authorities described conditions inside as deplorable.

What happened: Marietta police were called to 1955 Bells Ferry Road after the state’s child welfare agency flagged concerns about two children at the address. When officers arrived to help welfare workers check on the children, no adult answered the door. Before police secured a search warrant, all 15 children walked out of the apartment on their own. Three adults showed up about three hours later and told police they were the children’s parents.

The charges: All three adults face two felony child cruelty charges and a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge. The adults are:

• 40-year-old Ashley Jackson of Marietta
• 41-year-old Derrick Jackson of Marietta
• 36-year-old Briana Reynolds of Marietta

Derrick Jackson faces an additional felony charge of crossing the guard line, which applies when a person brings contraband into or out of a jail or prison.

What’s confirmed: Once police executed the search warrant, detectives confirmed all 18 people — 15 children and 3 adults — were living in the two-bedroom apartment. The three adults told police they are the biological parents of the children. Child welfare workers placed all 15 children in safe housing.