Father accused of leaving three boys alone in squalor

When police arrested Chad Victor Braun after his three young sons were found home alone, naked and covered in feces, with only frozen french fries and Mountain Dew for nourishment, his first question wasn't about the boys, police said.

"He wanted to know how his dog was, and he wanted someone to call and check on the dog," said Moon police Chief Leo McCarthy. "That was his concern."

Braun, 23, remains jailed under $50,000 bond and faces a preliminary hearing Tuesday on felony charges of endangering the welfare of children, McCarthy said. He was arrested Monday night leaving his job at a Coraopolis pizza restaurant. Court documents don't indicate whether Braun has an attorney.

His boys, ages 2, 3 and 4, are in the custody of Allegheny County Children, Youth and Families, McCarthy said. A CYF caseworker paid an "unannounced visit" to Braun's Oak Drive townhouse in Mooncrest on March 21, according to an arrest affidavit.

No one answered the door, but the caseworker could hear the children inside. She called Braun's mother, who came to the townhouse and convinced one of the children to unlock a window to let them in.

Once inside the home, the caseworker immediately called 911.

"My officers said the children looked like they were from a Third World country," McCarthy said. "They were dirty, covered in feces, they had terrible diaper rash, and they had distended stomachs from malnutrition.

"The house was filthy, and the toilet was backed up so there were feces all throughout the house. They were left alone in deplorable conditions."

A box of uncooked macaroni and cheese was spilled onto a coffee table, with a bag of frozen french fries and bottle of Mountain Dew nearby, according to the affidavit. The refrigerator was nearly empty, and a package of raw chicken was left rotting on a kitchen counter, investigators said.

Braun's black and white dog was locked in a cage in the kitchen.

The boys apparently were locked in a bedroom. McCarthy said investigators don't know how long they were confined to the room or when they "escaped." The door handle was tied with a rubber hose, which was attached to a door across the hall, McCarthy said. The children apparently pulled on the door enough times to stretch the rubber hose and opened the door wide enough to escape.

He said investigators don't know how long the children were left alone. Braun has full custody of his children, McCarthy said, and police don't know where their mother is.

"There's a lot we don't know because he isn't talking, and the children are really too small to tell us anything," McCarthy said.

Doctors at Children's Hospital found the children were malnourished and had severe diaper rash, bruises and cuts, according to the arrest affidavit. One child with bruised knuckles told doctors he was injured while trying to get out of the locked bedroom.

"The saddest part is, for all they must have gone through, they were smiley little guys and were really happy to see people," McCarthy said.

No one answered the door at Braun's mother's home in Coraopolis yesterday. A manager at Anthony Jr's Pizzeria, where Braun worked, declined to comment. Neighbors said they didn't know much about the family and rarely saw the children.