Child found near mattress 'covered with roaches' inside squalid Florida home overrun by rats, trash, and feces: Police

One woman in Florida is under arrest after police and animal control personnel allegedly discovered her residence teeming with rats and trash and one young child near a mattress "covered with roaches."

On December 7, deputies with the Citrus County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to a residence in Beverly Hills, Florida, about an hour and a half northwest of Orlando. The deputies were responding to what they describe as "an animal cruelty complaint," but what they discovered appeared instead to be a house of horrors.

According to a CCSO Facebook post, the house contained several cages and aquariums with snakes and rodents, as well as "rats and cats running freely." Officers found a ferret left in a filthy cage filled with urine and feces and a dog trapped in a crate much too small, the report continues. Neither animal had been given proper food or water, they claimed.

However, the most horrific discovery the deputies reportedly made while in the residence was the presence of "a juvenile" near a mattress "covered with roaches" in one of the bedrooms. The bedroom where the minor was found was likewise covered in trash, which resulted in an infestation of "insects," the report says. There was even blood on the bedroom floor where cats had been eating a dead rat. Investigators claimed they found "50 rodents in cages" and "300 other rodents roaming freely" in another bedroom as well.

Because of the "deplorable conditions" in the residence — including dirty dishes, feces, and urine — police and animal control personnel were advised to take caution before entering. They reported that "the pungent smell of ammonia" upon entering "overwhelmed" them.

Police ultimately arrested Shannon Marie Morgan, 38, the homeowner and presumed mother or guardian of the unnamed juvenile. She has been charged with 12 counts of animal cruelty and one count of child neglect. Morgan had allegedly defaulted on her mortgage payments, and the home had been listed "as under sale by the sheriff's office in July," according to the Daily Mail. Morgan is being held on $26,000 bond.

In total, animal control removed seven cats, one dog, and one ferret from the residence. The home is now secure, and workers will continue to remove the remaining animals, the report says.

Details regarding the age, gender, and current whereabouts of the child found in the home have not been released.

Sheriff Mike Prendergast issued a statement denouncing the horrific conditions and the treatment of the child and the animals. "Neither children nor animals should ever endure this type of environment" and "[a]buse of any kind should not be tolerated," the statement read in part.