Man, woman accused of neglecting 5 children

Two people from Meadow Lake were arrested and charged after a months-long investigation into allegations of neglect of five children.

The kids were removed from a home in Meadow Lake in July, according to an RCMP news release issued Friday. Their ages and genders were not released. The Ministry of Social Services informed the RCMP about the alleged neglect.

On Dec. 1, after “an extensive investigation that involved many interviews and analysis of evidence,” the RCMP laid charges, the release said. It did not explain why the charges were not reported to the public until two weeks later.

The man and woman are not being identified in order to protect the identities of the alleged victims.

The man, 35, is charged with five counts of failure to provide necessaries, five counts of forcible confinement, two counts of assault causing bodily harm and one count of aggravated assault. The woman, 30, is charged with five counts of failure to provide necessaries, five counts of forcible confinement and two counts of assault causing bodily harm.

The couple was arrested in Saskatoon by city police on Dec. 6, the release said. They appeared in Meadow Lake provincial court on Dec. 7 and were remanded in custody. Their next court appearance is scheduled for Monday. Postmedia News