An initial hearing was held in Pulaski Circuit Court Monday for three of the adults who entered not-guilty pleas to felony charges of neglect of a dependent. The court appointed attorneys for all three, Donna Short, 42, Christopher Short, 25, and Patricia Meeks, 18, all of North Judson. Their next court appearance will be Feb. 7.

The remaining adults, charged with failure to report child abuse, will appear in Superior Court.

The Shorts are reportedly the three-year-old girl's father and step-mother.

A day before the arrests, the sheriff's office received information claiming a three-year-old child was being kept inside a locked wooden box at the residence, according to the police report. The information reported the girl was locked in the box during the evening and for extended periods of other times.

A "no knock" search warrant for the residence was issued out of Pulaski Circuit Court with the assistance of the Pulaski County prosecutor’s office.

Deputies from the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office executed the search warrant about 1 a.m., Wednesday. Upon securing all adults inside the residence, the three-year-old girl was located by Deputy Michelle Jackson in the living room inside a homemade plywood box, according to the probable cause affidavit filed in the case.

The other five children were located in the house, along with Donna Short, Christopher Short, Patricia Meeks and Timothy Senesac. Police discovered Shawn Griffin, Michael, Meeks II and Anna Senesac in a van outside of the residence; and found Thelma Meeks and Dennis Butala in a camper trailer outside the residence, according to the probable cause document.

All adults located during the execution of the search warrant were taken into custody and transported to the Pulaski County Jail.

Deputies located five additional juveniles and the three-year-old girl inside the residence. The child discovered in the box was taken to Pulaski Memorial Hospital for evaluation. The other juveniles were released at the scene into the custody of the Pulaski County Indiana Department of Child Services.

In her report, Deputy Jackson said she observed the wooden box next to the couch in the living room. She said the box was closed with what appeared to be a large, heavy, wooden lid with a rope handle on top and an eye hook screw on the side of the box.

Jackson opened the box and observed a child curled up inside. She lifted the child from the box, noticing her clothes were wet and smelled of urine. A small blanket covered the girl, according to the deputy's report. Police observed the box was dirty with dead bugs inside it, along with a thin plastic pad.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Donna Short told police the three-year-old girl had begun getting in and out of the box on her own about two weeks earlier and sometimes chose to stay in the box all night. Christopher Short said he knew nothing about the child being kept in the box, but acknowledged he had seen her climb in the box by herself. Both said the girl had been treated by doctors for a medical disorder and that she required a special diet. Some of the other adults believed the toddler was kept in the box to keep her from getting into things, particularly food she shouldn't eat. Three of the adults, however, noted they had heard the girl crying from inside the box.

Names and charges as a result of the investigation:

Neglect of a Dependent, Level 5 Felony:

Donna Short, 42, North Judson

Christopher Short, 25, North Judson

Patricia Meeks, 18, North Judson

Failure to Report Child Abuse:

Michael Meeks, 19, North Judson

Thelma Meeks, 38, North Judson

Derrick Butala, 36, North Judson

Shawn Griffin, 18, North Judson

Anna Senesac, 19, North Judson

Timothy Senesac, 18, North Judson

All have bonded out of jail.

The investigation continues.

The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Pulaski County Indiana Department of Child Services and Pulaski County EMS.