MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – A mother and father in Myrtle Beach are behind bars after allegedly allowing their two kids to live in a shed that police described as “deplorable.”

Kelly Poe and Paul St. Michel are both charged with two counts of unlawful conduct toward a child each. Poe also faces several drug and card theft charges.

Myrtle Beach police were called on June 17 to the 300th block of Cedar Street for a report of child abuse.

Investigators learned that Poe and St. Michel let their two kids, 6 and 17 years old, live in a shed, according to arrest warrants.

The shed was dirty, had limited space, no plumbing, no climate control and no place to store food, the warrants state.

The warrants also show the victims didn’t have any spare clothes.

A community member, Adrian Wilson told WMBF News the 17-year-old is a friend of his son. After hearing the news, he became concerned and drove over to Cedar Street.

“I came out here looking for my son’s friend, just to let him know, ‘Hey, we’re here, come on, I’ll take you in,’” Wilson said. ” If we would have known this, man, we would have intervened a long time ago.”

While Wilson said he had no idea the abuse was happening, one Cedar Street resident WMBF News spoke with, Jimmy Efird, said he isn’t too surprised, even though he doesn’t know the family personally.

He added that he has owned property on the street for 30 years and has seen the area attract crime.

“This area around here is pretty bad. The city hasn’t really done very much to clean it up,” Efird said. “It just attracts crime, so it doesn’t surprise me, but it’s still not excusable.”

Reports also stated Poe was found with drugs, something Wilson said, as a parent himself, angers him.

“They chose drugs over their kids, the well-being of their kids, and that’s just not right, a real parent doesn’t do that,” Wilson said. “I hope they just, honestly they just stay in jail, because they don’t need to be in them kids’ lives.”

Poe and St. Michel both remain booked at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center.

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