3 face new felony charges in alleged abuse of Swatara Township boy

The Lebanon County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday approved additional felony charges against three people in connection with the ongoing abuse of a 5-year-old boy found wandering alone along a major roadway in Swatara Township earlier this month.

Stephanie Schaffner, 42; Jade Shuey, 21; and Tucker Heagy, 20, now face one count each of aggravated assault of a child, unlawful restraint, and conspiracy, all felonies, according to the district attorney’s office. Prosecutors also elevated an earlier charge of endangering the welfare of a child to a second-degree felony.

Pennsylvania State Police first filed the endangerment charges July 10.

The case began that morning, when passing motorists spotted the boy walking alone near a major roadway and the Swatara Creek about 7:25 a.m. The child was naked and clutching a blanket, according to police. Police said the child was nonverbal and could not tell troopers where he lived.

Police previously said that good Samaritans held the boy until troopers and EMS arrived. He was transported to WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital for a medical evaluation.

State police traced the boy to a home at 2 N. Poplar St. in Swatara Township, where troopers found a car door and the residence’s door open. When no one answered their calls at the doorway, troopers entered and found Schaffner, Heagy, and a 16-year-old girl inside, according to the release.

Investigators said Schaffner is the boy’s grandmother, and the 16-year-old is her daughter. Heagy is described as the teen’s boyfriend. Shuey, the boy’s mother and also Schaffner’s daughter, had left the home the night before, according to police.

Troopers described the residence as unfit for habitation, citing hundreds of flies, multiple cats, piles of garbage, and an overwhelming stench of urine and rotten food. The only usable refrigerator was on the porch, they said.

Police said the defendants gated the boy inside his room, reinforcing the barrier with zip ties, string, and duct tape, and nailing wooden boards above it to keep him from climbing out. Cardboard covered the windows from the outside, and the floor was strewn with trash, feces, and urine, according to the release. Detectives said the room’s carpet had been removed and was found balled up in the basement.

All three defendants admitted caging the child, sometimes for days at a time, and said they often did not let him out to use the bathroom, according to police. Neighbors told investigators the boy had escaped before and they frequently overheard arguments about who would care for him.

“This little boy lived in hell,” District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said in the release. “His mother and grandmother failed him. … Our office intends to fully prosecute these heinous criminals and hold them fully accountable for the abuse.”

Charges against Shuey and Heagy were bound over for court following a preliminary hearing. Schaffner’s preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 6.

Schaffner and Shuey are being held at the county jail on $500,000 bail each, and Heagy on $250,000 bail.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the district attorney’s office and Lebanon County Detective Bureau at 717-228-4403 or state police at the Jonestown barracks.