COLUMBUS - A Columbus street preacher whose stepchildren were found malnourished, lice-ridden and living in squalor has been sentenced to probation after he agreed to terminate his parental rights. <br>
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Charles C. Hildreth, 46, pleaded guilty Thursday in Muscogee Superior Court to two counts of cruelty to children. <br>
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The Georgia Department of Family and Children Services was investigating the Hildreth family in July 2001, when Hildreth barricaded his home to keep the investigators from entering. <br>
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Sheriff's deputies forced their way inside, where DFCS investigators found a 6-year-old boy and his young sister living in filth, prosecutor Wayne Jernigan said. <br>
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The boy weighed under 29 pounds with the skeletal structure of a 3-year-old. The boy gained weight quickly after he was in state custody, Jernigan said. <br>
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Superior Court Judge John Allen sentenced Hildreth to time served, four years on probation and banned him from accepting any other children as his wards while on probation. <br>
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Hildreth's wife, Debra, faces similar charges and is tentatively scheduled to plead guilty later this mnonth.
