By: Yuritza Arroyo
Authorities in Ocean County announced that on May 25, Donna Jung, 57, of Lehigh Acres, Florida, and Helecia Morris, 41, of Brick Township, were found guilty of Endangering the Welfare of a Child in connection with incidents that occurred between April 1, 2015, and January 9, 2016, in Brick Township.
According to Brick Township authorities, after a week-long jury trial, the jury concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Jung and Morris abused and neglected a minor in their care.
Authorities said Jung and Morris are scheduled to be sentenced on July 7, at which time they face up to ten years in New Jersey State Prison. Both Morris and Jung were remanded into custody after the jury delivered the guilty verdict.
They will both remain in the Ocean County Jail until their sentencing hearing.
According to Brick Township Police, on January 9, 2016, Officers and representatives from the Division of Child Protection and Permanency responded to a residence on Queen Ann Road in reference to a wellness check on Morris’s biological eight-year-old son.
Police say responding Officers found the child locked in his room in abhorrent conditions.
The room also reeked of urine. The eight-year-old male child and two other minor children were removed from the residence.
According to officials, they were taken to Hackensack Meridian Ocean University Medical Center in Brick Township to be medically evaluated.
All three children were subsequently placed in foster care.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victim’s Unit and the Brick Township Police Department revealed that the eight-year-old male victim was locked in his room day and night by Morris and Jung.
According to the Police, he was not allowed to use the bathroom in the residence and was excluded from socializing with the rest of the family. The room contained no bed, no furniture, no lights, and no toys.
On January 11, 2016, Detectives executed a court-authorized search warrant on the residence, and Morris and Jung were arrested.
Morris and Jung were transported to the Ocean County Jail and subsequently released on bail.