North Fort Myers children found in squalor; father arrested

NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. — A North Fort Myers father is behind bars after police found his two young sons living in filth.

Feces, beer cans, pills, cigarette butts and broken glass were among the items Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies said they encountered in the North Fort Myers apartment where 29-year-old Christopher Yates lived with his two sons, ages 7 and 8. Yates was arrested and faces child neglect charges.

A Lee County School District employee alerted the sheriff’s office when the boys didn’t show up at school for a week.

Neighbor Jesus Lovato said he and other neighbors had seen the children walking the streets barefoot and dirty.

“It was sad. We all knew it was sad,” Lovato said. “All of us knew it was sad, but nobody wanted to do nothing about it.”

The children are now in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families, which is investigating the case.