Heroin Addicted Couple Sentenced To Three To Seven Years For Child Neglect

A drug-addicted Levittown couple who failed to take their young kids to school or the dentist but had no problem bringing them along to shoplift and buy heroin were sentenced to prison this week.

William Medl and Kimberly Block, both 44, were sentenced to three to seven years each in state prison, close to the maximum allowed for child endangerment, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.

When Bristol Township police and Bucks County social workers intervened last December, the three children of 44-year-old Medl and Block were severely neglected.

The couple two girls – ages 8 and 7 at the time – did not know their last names or their ABCs, had never attended school, and had rotted teeth. Their 2-year-old brother did not know his first name, communicated only with gestures, and smelled of spoiled milk, cigarettes and a soiled diaper.

According to a report by the District Attorney, the children were so badly infested with lice that they had to have their heads shaved and between the three of them, had to have 31 teeth extracted under anesthesia because of severe decay.

The children have since been placed in foster care.

Their parents pleaded guilty Tuesday in Bucks County Common Pleas Court to endangering the welfare of children and several theft and drug-related charges. In addition to the prison time, each were given a consecutive five years of probation.

“The time it will take [the children] to get caught up in school and have a normal life is anybody’s guess,” the judge said. “All for drugs.”

Block, a former model, airline attendant and nursing home aide, and Medl, a former construction worker, became addicted to opioids after suffering back injuries at work a decade ago. Block said she was frequently abused physically by Medl during their 11 years together, sometimes in front of the children. Both turned to heroin two years ago after their doctors stopped prescribing the painkillers they were abusing.

According to a news release, the family lost its house to addiction-fueled debt before they began living in cheap motel rooms and even cars. To pay for lodging and heroin, Medl stole batteries from home-improvement stores – sometimes bringing his children along. According to court records, the girls described driving to Philadelphia, where Medl left them alone in the car to purchase “adult medicine.” They told of watching their parents snorting or injecting the powder, and of moving it out of their little brother’s reach, knowing it was poison.

Block’s attorney asserted that she “was a victim of drug addiction and domestic violence” and had worked hard to get clean since being arrested

“I’m a shell of the person I used to be….I do love my children very much. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to them,” Block said in court.

Medl’s attorneysaid his client “does extremely well” when not on drugs but that his actions “are inexcusable”.

“I just can’t wrap my mind around how three little kids aren’t enough for you to get clean,” said Deputy District Attorney Kate Kohler. “I can’t imagine a more aggravated case of endangering the welfare of children.”